Cargill to pay second big fine after waste spill

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Cargill Inc. must pay more than $286,000 to the state for dumping hog waste into a river that killed more than 50,000 fish, Attorney General Jay Nixon said Wednesday.

The fine stems from a July 2000 release of hog waste that eventually reached the Loutre River in Audrain Country and killed an estimated 53,000 fish.

The agreement with the state brings Cargill's fines in the case to nearly $1.3 million. The company had earlier agreed to a $1 million fine and costs with the federal government. The order issued by Audrain County Circuit Court Judge Keith Sutherland resolves allegations that Cargill violated the Missouri Clean Water Law at the McCaw farm it manages.

The former Cargill manager at the facility, Duane W. Connor, 40, was sentenced in August to five months in prison and five months of in-house arrest for knowingly allowing the dumping.