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7/23/2025
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtga.us
July 23 2025 134 pm EDT
CrimeBox
Clean Water Act Conviction Fiscal Year 2012; Case ID# CR_1219 (Georgia)
Harshest sentence imposed on GA company, $3.8 million fine
The defendant in this case is a company operating a manufacturing plant in Atlanta. The company was charged with knowingly violating the Clean Water Act by releasing contaminated wastewater in violation of the discharge permit.
According to EPA Criminal Investigation Division records, the defendant operates a blending facility with various chemicals mixed to manufacture detergents and cleaning products, "including liquids, aerosols, powders and acids". The facility generates wastewater containing contaminants or pollutants, subject to a pollutant discharge permit. Records must be kept detailing the characteristics of the discharge, the specific pollutants, concentration and volume with monthly reporting of discharges.
Environmental inspectors to the defendant's site found garden hose running from a potable water connection into an over-sized wastewater holding tank. Contaminant concentration values reported to the City were based on the diluted volume. The inspectors determined false reporting, the discharge subsequently determined to be non-compliant with the permit. The defendant was charged with a single count, knowing violation of the Clean Water Act.
From the court-issued press release dated June 29, 2007, "In its plea today, (defendant) admitted that from at least September 1998 until November 2002, while inspectors from the City of Atlanta Watershed Department were at the facility conducting sampling, employees altered the wastewater flow in order to render the sampling inaccurate, with the intention of misleading the City of Atlanta. As a result of the investigation, the defendant's former Director of Environmental Compliance, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act, in February 2006. He is awaiting sentencing."
The defendant admitted the practice had pre-dated the hiring of the Director of Environmental Compliance, including false reports with inaccurate wastewater flow data, phosphorus concentrations and pH results. A 10,000 gallon discharge and an acid spill had not been reported at all.
Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Ron Tenpas made a statement to the press to deter future polluters, "The guilty plea today shows that corporations will be held accountable through criminal prosecution if they allow managers and employees to mislead environmental agencies and seek to hide Clean Water Act violations." Acting U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates stated, "Employees of (defendant) showed a flagrant disregard for the environmental laws of the United States. Today’s sentence is the harshest sentence ever imposed on a company in the Northern District of Georgia for a violation of environmental laws. This sentence signals to the business community that it must comply with laws that protect our environment and that a failure to do so will result in prosecution and severe penalties." "This company systematically broke the law and hid illegal behavior from the City of Atlanta," said Grant Nakayama, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance. "Today’s plea agreement should be seen as a warning to all companies -- if you falsify sampling results, you will be prosecuted."
Federal Fine: $3,800,000; Probation: 36 months
See last SDWA Legal, "Corrosives flushed down the toilet daily, a metal plating company owner and employee locked up for CWA crimes", here.
SDWA CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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