First it was BRL Hardy at Renmark, now it’s Beringer Blass at Sonoma. The news that Beringer discharged pollutants into the picturesque Russian River will not please those faced with the task of selling the wine industry to government as a responsible environmental citizen. The Northern California River Watch has lodged a suit against Beringer in the federal court in San Francisco and is attempting to make Beringer pay $US27,500 per day for each alleged violation, according to the Bloomberg news service. The problem is apparently linked to heavy rainfall and arises from the fact that Beringer’s waste-water facilities lie adjacent to the river. The South Australia Environment Court fined BRL Hardy a mere A$97,000 out of a possible A$480,000 damages for its admitted polluting activities. It was unable to make charges stick on five ‘more serious’ accusations.
