(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following press release was submitted by the Ischua Valley Water Keepers group, formed last year after the die-off of fish, amphibians and other aquatic animals in Ischua Creek stemming from toxic discharges from the Great Lakes Cheese Co. plant in Franklinville).
August 26 is the first anniversary of the Ischua Creek disaster during which tens of thousands of fish, along with amphibians, reptiles, and other wildlife died from a catastrophic failure of the toxic wastewater treatment system at the Great Lakes Cheese (GLC) facility in Franklinville, which holds a permit to discharge 900,000 gallons of wastewater per day into the creek.
Soon after the die-off, many people who live or work near the creek or fish, swim, or boat in it began to ask questions about what happened, what was in the discharge that made it so toxic, and what could be done to make sure it never happens again.
A citizen’s group, the Ischua Valley Water Keeper, came together to seek answers to these questions. Jeff Goodyear, who organized the group, states: “We recognize that the Great Lakes Cheese facility is an important economic engine in Cattaraugus County. Water Keeper hopes to see the company prosper alongside the people and all the life that depends on that creek.”
In the fall of 2025, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) — the agency charged with upholding all appropriate environmental regulations — appeared at first willing to keep the community and Water Keeper informed about the disaster and its fallout. But that quickly changed as the facility resumed operations not long after the event. DEC refused to meet in person with Water Keeper’s representatives, and the agency refused to turn over public records under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) regarding what DEC knew before the fish kill, what DEC did after the fish kill, and what safeguards DEC required before allowing GLC to resume discharges into the creek.
It took six months and a lawsuit for DEC to begin complying with the FOIL requests and even then, incomplete records have been produced. The records that have been provided raise new questions about what’s being discharged into the creek as well as how robust the DEC has been in pursuing compliance with existing regulations, especially given that it was aware of significant and ongoing operational problems including excessive discharges at the facility before the fish kill event.
Dr. Scott Simpson, Chair of the Chemistry Department at St. Bonaventure University, reviewed the documents released under the FOIL request and states: “The DEC claims its permit requirements – when complied with – are ‘fully protective of public health and the environment’ and that is unequivocally not true as their chemical analysis/quantification is not inclusive of all compounds. There are many contaminants that could be released that cause damage to the environment and public health that are just missed by what they did. For example, if the Great Lakes Cheese facility was releasing persistent organic pollutants (POPs) their analysis would miss them and the permit would allow it. They cannot guarantee that they are fully protective, but they could say it is highly probable that they are mitigating effects.”
Ischua Creek is a popular trout stream, but its fishery has been essentially wiped out in the reach downstream from the GLC facility. The best current estimate is that meaningful biological recovery will take multiple years, because the 2025 discharge killed not only trout but also minnows and aquatic insects that form the food base needed to sustain a healthy trout fishery.
By law, New Yorkers have a constitutional right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment. But exercising and defending this right necessarily depends on government transparency from DEC, the agency primarily responsible for protecting the environment in New York. The public is entitled to a more thorough accounting of what’s being discharged into the Creek and what GLC is doing or plans to do to mitigate the risks of future environmental harm. As it now stands, there are times when the air near the creek is foul and a slick of something can be seen on the surface. Homeowners along the creek worry about the quality of the water in their wells. A local farmer has his fields repeatedly flooded even on sunny days potentially due to excessive discharges of waste water.
Now, the DEC is asking the State Supreme Court to dismiss the suit brought by the Water Keeper. A remote hearing is scheduled to decide the issues on Aug. 19th. Ischua Valley Water Keeper is confident in its legal position that the agency failed to comply with FOIL and maintains that it would be premature for the Court to dismiss any claims while the agency continues to produce records that were long withheld. But regardless of the outcome in the court proceeding, Water Keeper is committed to advocating on the community’s behalf so that events like last year’s fish kill remain entirely a thing of the past.
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