Bacardi has received an order from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to comply with the Clean Water Act for wastewater discharge at its rum distillery in Catano, Puerto Rico.

This is the second time in four years that the EPA has threatened Bacardi with huge fines for water pollution. The order relates to levels of lead, zinc, copper and all other materials which are currently being discharged from the facility into the Atlantic Ocean, according to a release from the EPA,

?Following repeated attempts to come to a resolution, EPA determined that it was in the best interest of environmental protection to proceed with a unilateral order and require Bacardi to comply,? said Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Regional Administrator.

If the company fails to comply, it will face stiff fines, he said.

The EPA gave Bacardi an interim limit of up to 180 days in which it can continue discharging wastewater while working to achieve compliance.

The interim limit will require that Bacardi treat its waste during this period to the maximum extent possible to minimise pollutants discharged into the ocean.

In November 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Bacardi Corporation had transferred ten acres of land in Las Cucharillas Marsh to the Universidad Metropolitana for a land preservation project.

The land, which was valued at $1 million, was part of a Supplemental Environmental Project developed by EPA as part of a settlement that it reached with Bacardi for violations of its wastewater discharge permit in 2001 under the Clean Water Act at the Cata?o, Puerto Rico facility.was unable to speak with Bacardi?s communications office yesterday as the company closed its doors early due to Hurricane Rita.