4/9/2025
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtny.us
April 9, 2025 319 pm EDT
SDWA CrimeBox
Historic Conviction Fiscal Year 2009; Case ID# CR_1861(Kentucky)
One hundred barrels of oily brine wastewater injected underground, every day, for more than a year
Just a mile away from the Red River Gorge, rock climbers' and naturalists' paradise, tens of thousands of barrels of oily wastewater were pumped into an underground well over the course of a year.
Without a permit to do so, the defendant in this case illegally disposed of produced industrial wastewater from four active oil wells. The defendant plead guilty to the Safe Drinking Water Act violation, specifically concerning the Underground Injection Control Program.
In this case, a relatively small player in the oil and gas industry chose to ignore laws protecting drinking water. Illegal disposal of hazardous materials underground can threaten groundwater aquifers, in this case, the aquifer below Bear Hollow, southwest of Slade, Kentucky.
Federal District Court justice imposed no federal fine at sentencing. The defendant entered into a Consent Agreement and Final Order with the US Environmental Protection Agency, and received two years probation.
Federal Fine: $0; Probation: 24 months
See last week's CrimeBox, "Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals supports one of the first Safe Drinking Water Act convictions in US history", here.
SDWA CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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