Distiller will pay over $700,000 because of bourbon spill that killed fish in Kentucky River
Jim Beam will pay the state of Kentucky more than $700,000 because of a bourbon spill that killed fish in the Kentucky River and Glenn’s Creek last summer.
The spill happened after lightning struck a warehouse on McCracken Pike in Woodford County in early July, causing a fire. The warehouse collapsed, destroying about 40,000 barrels of bourbon and contaminating the nearby creek, which flows into the river.
In an agreed order signed Dec. 6, Jim Beam Brands Co. agreed to pay a fine of $600,000 and to repay $112,075 that the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet spent responding to the spill.
According to the order, the fish kill extended along 62 miles of Glenn’s Creek and the Kentucky River, causing a “significant impact.”
Beam Suntory told the Courier-Journal in a statement that “we recognize the regrettable and unavoidable impacts of the incident and have been committed to doing what we can to restore the environment.”
The Chicago-based company said it had tried to mitigate the effects of the spill by putting aerators in the Kentucky River and in creeks nearby and using “fire suppression and containment strategies to minimize runoff.”
The agreed order also lays out other measures the company must take to remediate the situation, including providing an alternate source of drinking water if elevated ethanol levels are found in any well or spring connected to the site that provides drinking water for people or livestock.
This story was originally published December 28, 2019 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Distiller will pay over $$700,000 because of bourbon spill that killed fish in Kentucky River."
