Churchill Downs Inc. has agreed to pay a $2.9 million fine and fund $5.6 million in renovations to its Fair Grounds racetrack facility in New Orleans to settle charges that it illegally discharged wastewater into the area’s waterways, according to the Environmental Protection Agency and the company. The charges stem from illegal discharges under the Clean Water Act from 2012 to 2018, according to the EPA. The $2.9 million fine was said by the EPA to be the largest ever paid by a “concentrated animal-feeding operation,” a category applied to Fair Grounds due to its backstretch population of horses. The backstetch capacity is 1,800 horses, spread over nearly 40 acres. In addition to the fine, Churchill has agreed to renovate the property to “address wastewater and storm water drainage in and around Fair Grounds,” which is located in the heart of New Orleans. The initial plans call for $5.6 million in improvements over the next three years, though the consent decree with the EPA also requires CDI “to implement additional remedial measures if these measures do not successfully eliminate unauthorized discharges,” the EPA said. In a statement, CDI said that the area is “challenged” by several conditions exacerbating drainage problems. “Fair Grounds racetrack is one of the oldest horse racing tracks in the nation and is located in an urban location that is challenged by extreme rainfall and poor natural drainage,” the statement said. “These conditions are compounded by its sea-level elevation and an antiquated New Orleans wastewater and storm-water management system.” The company said it has “worked cooperatively and diligently with federal, state, and local environmental agencies” in order to remedy the problems and reach the consent decree. The EPA said that Fair Grounds illegally discharged wastewater on 250 separate occasions during the six-year period running from 2012-2018. The track’s permit during that time prohibited any discharge into waterways except due to “a significant rain event, or when 10 inches of rain falls in a 24-hour period<’ according to the EPA. Churchill purchased Fair Grounds in 2004. The company also operates a lucrative casino on the property.