WASHINGTON - Krispy Kreme doughnuts are so popular that people sometimes camp out the night before a new store opens, eager to be one of the first to sample the famous original glazed rounds as they slide warm out of the fryer.

But something else sliding out of a Krispy Kreme doughnut plant in has been eating away at officials in Fairfax County, Va.

The county has been embroiled in a years-long dispute with the legendary doughnutmaker that erupted this month into a full-blown legal battle. Fairfax officials have sued the Winston-Salem, N.C., company, saying waste emanating from the five-year-old factory has gummed up the county's sewage system, violating environmental laws and causing millions of dollars in damage.

The "excess fats, oils and grease" have built up in the system, destroying iron pipes, mechanical pumps and other equipment and caused leaks, according to court filings. The county is seeking $2 million for repairs and $18 million in civil penalties.

Brian Little, a spokesman for the company, said in a statement that the allegations are "totally unfounded." The company has been "over 99 percent compliant" with all permits and stopped discharging the doughnutmaking residue into county wastewater more than a year ago, he said.

"As a significant employer in Fairfax County for well over 30 years, we look forward to the opportunity to show that these charges are completely groundless," Little wrote in an e-mail.

But county officials say the problems, which began shortly after the plant opened in May 2004, continue. The muck got so bad, the county contends in the circuit court filings, that a nearby pumping station began smelling of doughnuts. County staff were called on repeatedly to clean out "doughnut grease and slime" from the station.

During a 2004 inspection of a pipe that crosses the Occoquan River into Prince William County, a camera inserted into one of the pipes "got stuck in the grease, preventing inspection of the remainder of the line," the documents say.

Then, in April of last year, the county issued a cease-and-desist order, asking that the company stop releasing its waste into the system and instead haul it to a treatment plant elsewhere. Since then, Krispy Kreme has been hauling an average of about 15,000 gallons of waste a day to a treatment plant nearby.

The factory sits in an office park, in an isolated industrial area in southern Fairfax County. Two workers in white Krispy Kreme uniforms and hairnets had a late lunch yesterday near a window. An unmistakable sugary aroma wafted from the truck bay area despite a heavy downpour.