This California nut processing facility has a stench problem. It’s been fined $221,440 for it

A pistachio processing plant in Tulare County will pay a more than $200,000 fine it received due to the stench coming from a wastewater pond.

Numerous residents had complained about the odors coming from Setton Pistachio’s plant in Terra Bella, and in 2020 the company was issued a cease and desist order, according to a statement from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, which levied the fine.

The order called for the elimination of the odors along with documentation of how the plant resolved the issue. The odors remained.

“We want dischargers to understand that when they do not comply with our requirements there are significant penalties,” the board’s assistant executive officer, Clay Rodgers, said in a statement.

To settle the matter, Setton Pistachio agreed to pay $221,440, a portion of which will be paid to the State Water Resources Control Board account for cleanup and abatement.

The remaining portion, $88,235.27, will install air scrubber units at Carl Smith Middle School and Terra Bella Elementary School, two public schools near the plant.