|
|
|
  
7/2/2025
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtny.us
July 2 2025 1111 am EDT
CrimeBox
Clean Water Act Conviction Fiscal Year 2015; Case ID# CR_2728 (Alabama)
That's not supposed to happen! Heavy equipment operator pushes dock debris into Mobile River
The defendant in this case is a marine vessel services company operating from the export terminal in Mobile, Alabama. The company was convicted on a Clean Water Act violation in 2015 for ordering an employee to discharge waste material into waters of the USA without a permit.
The defendant held a valid National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination System permit for a set amount and type of waste to be released at specific outfall locations on the property. Note, the loading dock was not an approved outfall site for any sort of discharge.
The briefing document for this case indicates a variety of materials are handled through the defendant's location. It is normal for spills to occur during loading of the ocean-going vessels, including "wood pellets, coal, pig iron, scrap, limestone, coke, ores, and mineral sands".
Federal district court in Alabama learned of clogged storm drains on the loading dock that led to the Clean Water Act crime that took place in the fall of 2010. At least six storm drains take rainwater runoff through a sand and gravel chamber below the dock to filter out contaminant materials washed down from the work area. At the time of the violation, the court learned the sand and gravel chamber was plugged up, causing rainwater to back up on the dock and through the loading work area.
The defendant advised an employee to use the front-end loader on site to push accumulated rain water off the dock, directly into the river. In the process of pushing the rainwater, the loader operator also cleared the deck of accumulated cargo debris, in violation of the Clean Water Act and the discharge permit.
The judge sentenced the defendant corporation to a federal fine of $200,000 and five years of probation.
Federal Fine: $200,000; Probation: 60 months
See last SDWA Legal, "Oops, they did it again! While on probation for a deliberate oil spill, cargo ship crew dumps oily water into the Bering Sea", here.
SDWA CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
|
|
|
|
All rights reserved 2025 - WTNY - This material may not be reproduced in whole or in part and may not be distributed,
publicly performed, proxy cached or otherwise used, except with express permission.
|
|
