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9/9/2026
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtga.us
Sep 9, 2026 311 pm EDT
CrimeBox
Historic Conviction Fiscal Year 2015; Case ID# CR_2667 (Louisiana)
Complacency and negligence cost this oil and gas producer $3.1 million and 3 years probation for felony violation of the Clean Water Act
"The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality will not tolerate any business, corporation or individual that bypasses state and federal laws for personal, professional or monetary gain. We take unpermitted discharges very seriously and will continue to aggressively prosecute those found to be in violation of environmental regulations."
- Peggy Hatch, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
In March of 2015, U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance handed down a $3.1 million sentence to an Oklahoma corporation found knowingly contaminating the waters of Louisiana's Breton Sound with oily brine, a waste product of oil and gas production.
The Defendant in this case operated an off-shore oil and gas production platform in Breton Sound, near Louisiana's Black Bay, an environmentally sensitive area. The Federal District Court in Louisiana learned the Defendant owned and operated the platform in Breton Sound from 1997 to 2011.
As any working oil and gas platform extracts oil and gas, an oily brine solution is produced. The contaminated wastewater stream requires special treatment or an approved disposal site to protect the sensitive Gulf habitat. The platform in question was equipped to pump its produced brine water through a conveyance system of pipes to approved disposal wells under the sea floor, near the platform.
When the operation was sold to a new owner in November 2011, irregularities were noted in the wastewater volume and the capacity of the disposal wells. A call was made to the LA State regulatory authorities, prompting the investigation that led to the felony charges in this case.
Investigators determined the Defendant was aware the platform was pumping wastewater through leaking pipes, over-filling the capacity of its disposal wells. The Defendant did not undertake repairs on the leaking conveyance system, and did not acquire additional disposal wells to accommodate the discharge volume.
Investigators from EPA Criminal Investigation Division and Louisiana State Department of Environmental Quality determined a continuous discharge of oily brine went on from October 2009 to November 2011. Federal District court estimates the Defendant saved approximately $1,550,000 by avoiding repairs to the wastewater discharge system. This was taken into consideration for sentencing, the federal fine was set at $2.5 million with $600,000 restitution payable to Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality Trust Fund.
"Our Office will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to pursue charges against individuals and corporations whose illegal conduct threatens our region's natural resources and public health," stated U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite.
"Developing domestic sources of energy must be done responsibly and safely," said Daniel J. Pflaster, Acting Special Agent in Charge of EPA's criminal enforcement program in Louisiana. "EPA will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to hold companies accountable for illegal conduct, and to assure compliance with laws that protect the public and the delicate Gulf Coast ecosystem from harm."
Federal Fines: $2,500,000; Restitution: $600,000; Probation: 36 months
See last week's CrimeBox here, "Lab owner and employee convicted of Clean Water Act violations for knowingly issuing false water toxicity reports"
CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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