Overview

• In court papers filed this week, Campbell Soup Supply Co. acknowledged at least 5,400 violations from April 2018 through December 2024 at its Napoleon canning facility.
• The suits by Environment Ohio, Lake Erie Waterkeeper, and the U.S. EPA cite discharges into the Maumee River of phosphorus, ammonia, E. coli, oil and grease, and suspended solids.
• A joint stipulation bars Campbell from contesting liability and recognizes harm to citizen groups, allowing them to enforce the Clean Water Act alongside the government.
• Plaintiffs and regulators say the case now moves toward a proceeding next year to decide operational requirements, monitoring, and civil penalties.
• Environmental advocates link the plant’s phosphorus releases to toxic algal blooms in western Lake Erie, while Campbell says the permitted facility has taken corrective steps and has had minimal, if any, adverse effects.