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4/22/2026
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtny.us
April 22, 2025 1131 am EDT
CrimeBox
Historic Conviction Fiscal Year 2011; Case ID# CR_2180 (Iowa)
Five years probation and $270,000 restitution levied upon this CWA felon for storing hazardous materials without a permit
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulates disposal of land-based waste, with a specific focus on hazardous land waste, according to Cornell Law School. Permits are required for the handling, transport and storage of hazardous materials. The Defendant in this case stored hazardous materials in an unsecured building without a permit, in violation of the RCRA Act. Unfortunately, it took a flood to uncover the illegal storage site, with harm sustained to US waters, a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act.
The Defendants in this case are a manufacturing business located in Monticello, Iowa, and the individual responsible for the company. The particular manufacturing process here is not fully disclosed in the federal case briefing; source documents simply state "many" chemicals involved in the day to day operations stored in an unmaintained and deteriorating building on the business premises. The unpermitted storage site was located very near a flowing water body, Kitty Creek.
The Defendant company did not possess a permit for the storage of chemicals at this location, hence EPA and Iowa state authorities were not aware of the risk of contamination of the watershed, in the event of a flood or accidental escape.
As creeks are bound to do, Kitty Creek swelled and spilled its banks, three floods within 16 years. In each instance, 1992, 2003 and the big one, 2009, the floodwaters entered the chemical storage building. During the flood event that prompted these charges and prosecution, the water level inside the chemical storage building reached 3 feet, the creek rushing in freely through holes in the building walls and foundation, toppling and displacing the chemical containers.
The corporation was charged with a single count violation of the RCRA , knowingly storing hazardous waste without a permit. The company owner, as the individual responsible, was further charged with a single count felony violation of the CWA, the unpermitted and negligent discharge of a pollutant into waters of the United States.
Federal District Court in Northern Iowa judge sentenced the Defendants to five years of probation, with the owner ordered to compensate the US EPA for damages.
Federal Fine: Restitution: $273,261; Probation: 120 months.
See last week's CrimeBox here, "Meat packing employee gets six weekends in jail for discharging contaminants to US waters"
CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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