Pollution of a river in the Puy-de-Dôme, the dairy pleads "the accident"

The company deplores an "accident" that is linked to a maintenance operation.

Compagnie des Fromages and RichesMonts incriminated after the pollution of a river at the end of March in the Puy-de-Dôme, lamented an "accident" related to a maintenance operation of the plant, indicated concordant sources.

"Following a stop for maintenance of the Besse-et-Sainte-Anastaise site, the resumption of the activity of the cheese factory has caused accidental pollution of the Couze Pavin River, due to a wastewater discharge. in rainwater, "wrote in a statement the director of Compagnie des Fromages and RichesMonts, Jean-Michel Page. Compagnie des Fromages and RichesMonts, a joint venture between Savencia and Soodial, owns the RichesMonts, Le Rustique, Cœur de Lyon brands.

A high fish mortality and a smell resembling chlorine. On March 30, a fisherman observed a high mortality of fish and invertebrates in the Couze Pavin, while a smell "resembling chlorine" emanated from the river, said the police, confirming a daily information Regional Mountain . The gendarmes had gone back to the cheese factory in Besse-et-Saint-Anastaise whose tanks had been cleaned on March 29 with "chlorine-based products", pointing to a possible "failure of the network" of wastewater from the site.

The company ensures that pollution has stopped since April 1st. "We deplore this accident and apologize to residents and all those concerned by this accidental pollution," said Jean-Michel Page, ensuring that this pollution was "halted since April 1". The company has "made every effort to identify the origin of the incident, to take corrective action and to warn the administrative authorities of the facts," he adds.

The storm water outlet clogged with concrete. While awaiting the result of an expertise to detect the origin of the leak, the exit of the rainwater of the factory was stopped with concrete, the gendarmerie specified. The site has been the subject of several inspections, including the Department of Population Protection and the French Agency for Biodiversity, according to the prefecture. A prefectoral order of formal notice was issued to impose on the company the implementation of immediate actions to prevent further pollution. Offenses detected in the natural environment will be reported to the judicial authority.