Beer Fight

In April, the Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade group, named Yuengling the No. 1 craft brewing company in the nation based on 2015 sales. (AP file photo)

D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc. has reached a settlement with the federal government regarding allegations that its two eastern Pennsylvania breweries discharged unacceptable levels of waste into a local water system.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced that a consent decree resolving the matter has been filed in federal court in Harrisburg.

The feds say in a news release that the decree calls for Yuengling to pay a $2.8 million penalty and also spend about $7 million to improve environmental measures at its breweries near Pottsville.

However, a Yuengling executive on Thursday said the necessary improvements have been in the works for several years and are already complete.

The company built a wastewater treatment facility at its downtown Pottsville brewery, which dates to the 1830s and is the oldest brewery in America, says Wendy Yuengling, the company's chief administrative officer.

The facility started operating in March and the company has been in compliance with the Clean Water Act ever since, Wendy Yuengling says.

Yuengling allegedly violated provisions of the act "numerous times between 2008 and 2015" by discharging waste that should have been pretreated at the breweries into the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority system, the two federal agencies say in the joint news release.

Wendy Yuengling says there was nothing toxic or dangerous in the waste; it was organic material such as sugar and yeast, byproducts of the brewing process.

But she did acknowledge the improvements were necessary. Although the feds pin the violations on both the downtown Pottsville brewery and Yuengling's newer brewery just outside of Pottsville, it's the downtown one that was the source of the problems, Wendy Yuengling says.

It previously didn't have its own wastewater treatment plant prior to March. That created problems as demand for Yuengling products increased, driving up production at the plant, she says.

"We struggled at that point because we were producing a lot of beer out of an old plant with no treatment facility," Wendy Yuengling says. "We were only in 18 states and we knew we'd continue to grow."

In addition to the newer brewery just outside of Pottsville, Yuengling also now operates a brewery in Tampa, Florida.

Yuengling has long been a hometown favorite in the Lehigh Valley even though it is based about 45 miles northwest of Allentown. The brewery's flagship beer, Yuengling Lager, is simply referred to as "Lager" at most local bars in the region.

Its popularity has also grown rapidly outside eastern Pennsylvania. In April, the Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade group, named Yuengling the No. 1 craft brewing company in the nation based on 2015 sales.

Although the company says the discharges from the breweries weren't toxic, EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin says in the news release that the occurrence of discharges still represents serious violations "posing a potential risk to the Schuylkill River, which provides drinking water to 1.5 million people."

"This history of violations and failure to fully respond to orders from the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority and EPA to correct the problems resulted in this enforcement action," Garvin says.

Wendy Yuengling says matters involving the community's safety and well being are a paramount concern to the company.

"Environmental responsibility is very important to us," she says. "We intend to be around a long time and keep this business for future generations."

Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.