COURTLAND—The owner of a hog transfer station faces a $14,365 fine for allowing wastewater to flow into an unnamed tributary of the Nottoway River.

The State Water Control Board during its Sept. 22 and 23 meeting will act on an order that levies the fine against Duplin Marketing, which operates J.L. Rose transfer facility at 21360 Plank Road, Courtland. That’s according to Robin Schuhmann, senior enforcement specialist with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality in Virginia Beach.

“If the board approves the consent order, which includes the civil penalty, (Duplin will have to pay the fine),” Schuhmann said.

A DEQ compliance officer was investigating an April 8, 2010, complaint regarding hog waste that had spoiled on the roadway, he said.

“One of the inspectors went to check it out and noticed the discharges (into the water),” Schuhmann said.

The inspector indicated the unpermitted discharge was flowing from a pipe into the unnamed tributary, according to paperwork filed on the case. DEQ files did not find a permit for Duplin to discharge wastewater from the facility’s hog transfer operation into state waters. Duplin also failed to notify DEQ about the discharge.

There was no loss of fish life, Schuhmann said.

“We talked to the man who runs the facility,” he said. “They capped off the pipe.”

Duplin is building a pump station that will carry the discharge to the Courtland sewer treatment plant, Schuhmann said. For now, it’s being hauled off site.

It’s believed the discharge from the station, where pigs are sorted and then shipped, was a small amount, he said.

Assuming the State Water Control Board accepts the consent order, Duplin will have 30 days to pay the penalty.

No one from Duplin could be reached for comment.