Fairfax sues Krispy Kreme over ruined sewer system
By: William C. Flook
Examiner Staff Writer
May 29, 2009
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| (AP FILE) |
Krispy Kreme doughnuts appear to have much the same effect on a sewer line as they do on a human artery.
Citing goop-clogged pipes, Fairfax County is looking to recoup millions of dollars from the confectionery giant, claiming yeast and grease dumped at the company’s Lorton plant destroyed the surrounding sewer system.
The civil lawsuit, filed this month in Fairfax County Circuit Court, comes after Fairfax sent Krispy Kreme a $1.9 million bill for the cost of repairing the system — the result of years of discharging “excessive quantities of highly corrosive wastes, doughnut grease and other pollutants” into the sewer, according to the suit.
The company has refused to pay and says the charges are “unfounded.”
The plant, on Furnace Road in the Gunston Commerce Center, produces about 83 million doughnuts in a year, the lawsuit said.
The suit details problems with the plant dating as far back as 2004, describing a sewer facility permeated by the smell of doughnuts, pipes clogged with corrosive slime and the resulting raw sewage leaks that eventually shut down the southern Fairfax sewer system.
At one point, public works officials ran a closed-circuit camera along a pipe to show the grease deposits, only to get the camera stuck in the buildup.
That accumulation, according to the county, destroyed iron pipes, mechanical pipes and other components of the sewer system, requiring the county to hire a contractor to repair and replace the equipment.
Krispy Kreme spokesman Brian Little, in a statement to The Examiner, called the county’s claims “totally unfounded.”
“Krispy Kreme has occupied the Lorton location for more than four years and during that period of time has been over 99 percent compliant with all permits,” Little said. “Also, since April 2008, at the county’s request, we have not been discharging wastewater in Fairfax County.
“As a significant employer in Fairfax County for well over 30 years, we look forward to the opportunity to show that these charges are completely groundless,” he added.
County leaders declined to comment on the litigation.
Test results from last year showed the plant’s wastewater had “extremely high levels of pollutants,” according to the lawsuit, which asks for penalties as high as $17 million on top of the repair bill.
