EXPANSION: Company says it will invest about $750,000
By The Chronicle, 5/22/98
"Go West," Horace Greeley advised, and Darigold's Chehalis operation is doing just that.
The firm announced Thursday it has purchased 240 acres, just west of the Chehalis River, near its existing processing plant.
During growing seasons, treated plant wash water will be recycled to the fields to irrigate crops, rather than be discharged into the Chehalis River after treatment.
Darigold expects to invest about $750,000, according to John E. Mueller, president and chief executive officer.
The dairy company's new approach to handling plant process water is part of a larger collaborative agreement with the Washington Department of Ecology and other parties, designed to improve the Chehalis River's water quality.
Clear water that leaves the plant contains small amounts of nitrogen, which can promote plant growth within the Chehalis River.
Because such plant growth depletes the amount of oxygen available to fish, DOE officials asked Darigold to discontinue discharges during the critical summer and fall periods, when river flows are the lowest.
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