Five Years After Tyson Farms Wastewater Spill, River Life Struggles to Recover in Alabama

Five years have passed since a wastewater spill from Tyson Farms affected residents in Walker and Cullman counties, located north of Birmingham, Alabama. Despite the time, the effects of the spill are still felt by the local community.

"We're downriver from the plant, which was hit hardest," said Martha Salomaa, a resident near "the Forks," where the Sipsey and Mulberry forks divide. "We just don't want to be forgotten."

Salomaa is the head of the Sipsey Heritage Commission, a group dedicated to protecting these rivers. Five years ago, Tyson's chicken processing plant leaked partially treated wastewater into the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River, killing over 175,000 fish. The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) noted that the incident was so severe that counting the dead fish was nearly impossible.

Salomaa mentioned that the wildlife in the Mulberry Fork hasn't returned to its pre-spill state, unlike the nearby Sipsey Fork.

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office secured a $3 million settlement from Tyson Farms, with much of the money earmarked for community improvement projects in the affected areas. However, the promised projects to enhance water access in Sipsey have yet to be completed, Salomaa noted.

Growing up in the Forks area, Salomaa and her family cherished their time on the river, often eating from its waters before the spill. "It feels like we've been cut off from our inheritance," she said. "My goal is to restore that."

Wildlife Recovery

After the spill, Ed Poolos, ADCNR’s deputy commissioner, estimated it would take at least seven years for the fish in Mulberry Fork to recover. During the spill, around 220,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater from Tyson’s Hanceville plant flowed into Mulberry Fork, drastically reducing oxygen levels and killing fish.

Although the Hanceville plant was destroyed by a fire in 2021, Tyson announced plans in 2022 to build a $208 million replacement facility.

Recent assessments showed some species have begun to recover, thanks to natural spawning and migration from less affected creeks. However, larger fish species will take longer to bounce back.

ADCNR plans its next assessment of Mulberry Fork in 2026. But Nelson Brooke, with Black Warrior Riverkeeper, believes other factors are also impacting the river's health. Besides the Tyson plant, wastewater treatment and other industrial plants, along with agricultural runoff, contribute to the pollution.

"It's challenging to pinpoint exactly where the poor water quality is coming from," Brooke said.

Settlement Projects

In 2020, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall sued Tyson Farms over the spill, accusing them of negligence and causing a public nuisance. The resulting $3 million settlement included $1.5 million to benefit communities in Walker and Cullman counties and $500,000 to increase public access to Mulberry Fork.

Last month, Garden City in Cullman County celebrated new projects funded by the settlement, including a new fire station and improvements to the Garden City River Park. Renovations to a community center in Colony, another Cullman County town, were also completed with settlement funds.

While Salomaa is happy for Garden City, she wonders when the promised projects in Sipsey will begin, particularly because Sipsey is downstream from the Hanceville plant. The Attorney General’s Office had promised improvements to the public access at the Forks in Sipsey.

"I'm worried we might be overlooked," she said. "To my knowledge, we haven't seen any progress on our part of the Mulberry Fork."

While the Attorney General’s Office did not respond to requests for comment, Poolos confirmed that progress is being made. The design for riverfront access at the Forks is complete, with construction bids opening this week. The project will enhance amenities at an existing boat launch, adding a boardwalk for fishing, a pavilion, and restrooms.

Construction is expected to begin in November and finish by summer 2025, with an estimated cost of $450,000.

Additionally, ADCNR is building boat launches using settlement funds, including three new access sites: one just north of the Forks on Mulberry Fork in partnership with the Freshwater Land Trust, one in Colony, and a canoe launch on Blackwater Creek in Walker County. The boat launch on Blackwater Creek is finished, but the other two are still pending construction.

While there wasn’t a specific order for these projects, those in Walker County took longer to be "shovel ready" due to more complex designs, Poolos said. Garden City’s projects were quicker because the property was already owned by the city.

"We're excited about these projects...we know the citizens deserve it, and we wish it wouldn’t have taken so long," Poolos said.

In the meantime, Salomaa remains hopeful. As a local school teacher, she knows many of her students, like others in the area, don't have access to the water due to historical mining activities. She believes that if more people could use the rivers, they’d be more motivated to protect them.

"When I take my students down the Sipsey, their minds are blown," Salomaa said.