User:Ajcolgat/sandbox

On April 5, 2023, Blue Water Baltimore, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against Fleischmann's Vinegar Company Inc., the largest vinegar manufacturer in the U.S. The company was accused of polluting the water channels in Jones Falls with illegal acidic chemicals, causing around 1,000 fish to die beginning in 2021. The lawsuit also stated that the members of Blue Water Baltimore discovered dead fish and eels in the water streams, illegal chemicals pumping out from unauthorized extra pipes on the property into the Jones Falls stream, and various highly acidic toxins around the foundation of the plant. The Maryland Department of the Environment also filed its own lawsuit through the U.S. District Court of Baltimore the same day. Reportedly, the company bypassed safety requirements when discharging treated water into the stream to cool down the vinegar, including the removal of chlorine. Additionally, according to an inspection by state regulators, they had discharged more than 643,300 gallons of water into the stream per day, which was more than double the amount of the company's original estimation of 295,000 gallons.

In December 2023, as a result of the lawsuits, the Baltimore plant of Fleischmann's Vinegar Company had to shut down production, according to the owner of the plant. The announcement of the shutdown came the same day as environmental testing at the facility from the state was planned to commence. A spokesperson for Kerry Group, an Ireland-based parent company for the facility, stated that, “The company will transfer production from Baltimore to other facilities as part of a broader consolidation of activity within the network,”. The company did not comment on if there were any layoffs caused by the shutdown, but they did not file layoff notices with the Maryland Department of Labor. A test from the Maryland Department of the Environment conducted on Dec. 20, 2023 found that a small amount of green dye was visible in Jones Falls just below the back wall of the facility. Earlier that day, Maryland environmental officials stated that red and green dye might be seen in the Jones Falls waters, however this was not said pose a threat to life.