1/28/2024
WT Staff
CWA CrimeBox
Environmental Crimes Historic Conviction: Fiscal Year 2021; Case ID# CR_3255(Louisiana)
Supervisor convicted for failure to report oil spill
One of 67 Criminal Prosecutions in Louisiana under the Clean Water Act (from 1989-2021)
The defendant in this case is a corporate official with oversight of an offshore oil and gas production platform in the Gulf of Mexico.
Investigators found that during the summer of 2016, an employee discharged oily water from an oil platform into the Gulf of Mexico. The discharge, whether accidental or intentional, is a violation of the Clean Water Act. The incident was observed by several witnesses with photographs taken of the oil sheen on the water.
Responsibility to immediately report discharges of pollutants impacting water rests with the supervisor-in-charge, or the highest ranking employee on site at the time. The defendant failed to report the discharge as it occurred. A report was eventually made two weeks later by another party. The defendant was investigated and charged, pleading guilty to violation of the Clean Water Act. Federal district judge in Louisiana sentenced the defendant to a federal fine and a year of probation.
Federal fine: $2500; Probation: 12 months
CWA CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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