The liquid that breached the CJ Bio America facility on April 14 was a fermentation byproduct used in making animal feed, not fertilizer, the company said in a statement Saturday evening.

According to that statement, approximately 277,000 gallons of the byproduct used in livestock feed overflowed the CJ Bio America facility and breached into the south branch of Lizard Creek. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources reported that the liquid was a fertilizer byproduct.

According to CJ Bio, the byproduct is non-toxic and contains small amounts of ammonium sulfate solutions, trace amounts of vitamins and minerals and contains roughly 80 percent water as well as a total nitrogen content of approximately 2.9 percent.

“The field tile east of our site was cleaned in its entirety prior to rainfall, and any material in the tile was collected to prevent any further infiltration to South Lizard Creek,” said CJ Bio America in an online statement Saturday evening. “Material remaining in secondary containment was collected and transferred to available storage on site. CJ Bio personnel and regulatory agencies sampled and tested water from the drainage tile, South Lizard Creek, and the Des Moines River continuously throughout the week. IDNR advised CJ Bio that nitrogen levels in the water were returned to normal.”

CJ Bio America also plans to install additional level monitoring devices for storage containment with alarm capabilities.

“Earthen berms for secondary containment will be increased in height and width and reinforced with materials to prevent damage by burrowing animals,” said CJ Bio. “We will also be in discussion with the appropriate agencies and the east field landowner to determine the viability of installing automated mechanical means to stop flow through the drainage tile in the event of emergency. We will continue to evaluate and institute measures to prevent this from happening in the future.”

CJ Bio officials are also working with the DNR and Webster County Conservation, they said, to begin the process of restocking the river with fish. On Friday, the DNR said that final numbers of dead fish were still being tallied. A call to the DNR’s communications chief was not immediately returned Sunday.

“We have reached out to some of the landowners along South Lizard Creek and will continue in the coming week,” said CJ Bio. “We deeply regret and apologize for this incident and are fully committed to the community and its well-being.”