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Environmental Crimes Case Bulletin
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Criminal Enforcement, Forensics and Training
Case Bulletin June 2012
This bulletin summarizes publicized investigative activity and adjudicated cases conducted
by OCEFT Criminal Investigation Division special agents, forensic specialists, and legal sup-
port staff.
Defendants in this edition:
Boris A. Tomicic Region I
Cephus R. Murrell Region 3
Rodney R. Hailey Region 3
Michael J. McKenna, Blue Marsh Laboratories Region 3
Carlos A. Garcia Region 4
Spectro Alloys Corporation Region 5
The Ohio Valley Coal Company Region 5
Kent Phillips Region 6
Cody Tuma Region 6
Sedrix Blumingburg Region 7
Ronald Monsen Region 10
EPA Bulletin June 2012 1
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DEFENDANT SUMMARY:
REGION
DEFENDANTS
CASE TYPE/STATUTES
Region 1
Boris A. Tomicic
Wire Fraud
Region 3
Rodney R. Hailey
CAA/Wire fraud and money laun-
dering
Region 3
Cephus R. Murrell
TSCA/Improper lead paint abate-
ment procedures & failure to dis-
close lead paint hazards
Region 3
Michael J. McKenna, Blue Marsh
Laboratories
CWA/Falsifying test records, mak-
ing false statements
Region 4
Carlos A. Garcia
CAA/Illegal purchase and sale of
ozone depleting refrigerant gas
Region 5
The Ohio Valley Coal Company
CW A/Negligent discharge of un-
treated slurry waste water into
stream
EPA Bulletin June 2012 2
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DEFENDANT SUMMARY:
REGION
DEFENDANTS
CASE TYPE/STATUTES
Region 5
Spectro Alloys Corporation
CAA/Failure to disclose excessive
hazardous air pollutants
Region 6
Kent Phillips
CWA/Negligent discharge without a
permit
Region 6
Cody Tuma
CWA/Negligent discharge of waste-
water into city POTW
Region 7
Sedrix Blumingburg
Mail fraud/Falsifying safety and auto
emissions tests
Region 10
Ronald Monsen
CWA/Unpemitted discharge into
U.S. waters
EPA Bulletin June 2012 3
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Quick Links:
« Trials
p. 4-7
p. 8
p. 9- 12
(Back to Quick Links)
Baltimore City Landlord Sentenced to Prison for Lead Paint Violations On June 6, 2012, CEPHUS
R. MURRELL was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, followed by six months of home detention as
part of one year supervised release, for improper lead paint abatement at rental properties owned and man-
aged by Murrell, as well as failure to disclose to tenants the presence of documented lead-based paint haz-
ards. Murrell is the president and owner of C. MURRELL BUSINESS CONSULTANTS, INC., through
which Murrell owns and manages approximately 68 rental properties with 175 rental housing units through-
out Baltimore. All of these properties were built before 1978 and are subject to federal, state and local laws
and regulations pertaining to the risks associated with lead-paint exposure. The Maryland Department of the
Environment (MDE) or its predecessor agencies have conducted environmental lead inspections for many
years at properties owned by Murrell after discovering that children with elevated lead blood levels were liv-
ing there. These inspections identified numerous lead hazards in tenants' homes. The state of Maryland and
the city of Baltimore have issued more than 20 Notices of Violation and compliance orders against Murrell
and/or his company, C. Murrell Business Consultants, for lead-based paint violations, including situations in
which a child with an elevated blood lead level was documented as living in a rental property leased by
Murrell. Additionally, Murrell entered into a number of Consent Decrees with the State and City of Balti-
more designed to achieve compliance with applicable lead requirements. On July 19, 2011, Murrell pleaded
guilty to three misdemeanor counts of violating the Toxic Substances Control Act. According to his guilty
plea, Murrell had workers conduct lead-paint abatement work at one of his apartments while the tenants and
their children were present on site, in violation of the lead-paint abatement regulations. In addition, Murrell
admits that there were several instances in which he falsely certified to MDE that workers would be con-
ducting lead abatement work and that a particular supervisor would be on site to supervise the work, when in
fact, no supervisor was on site, also in violation of the lead-paint abatement regulations. Finally, Murrell ad-
mits that he and his company failed to disclose to tenants the presence of documented lead-based paint haz-
ards when they rented units he owned and managed. Many of these units had a history of lead-based paint
problems that had been documented by MDE. This case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation
Division, MDE, and the Maryland Attorney General's Office. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Of-
fice for the District of Maryland.
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I
Photographs taken from an environmental lead inspection conducted on January 18, 2012 at some of the properties owned
by Murrell. Inspectors identified numerous lead hazards.
EPA Bulletin June 2012 4
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Connecticut Man Gets Federal Prison Term for Role in Fraud Scheme On June 18, 2012, BORIS
A. TOMICIC, of West Hartford, Connecticut, was sentenced in federal district court for the District of
Connecticut to 18 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his participation in a
scheme to defraud the developer of a New York shopping mall and the liability insurer of the development
site. In September 2004, Plaza Construction Company, the general contractor for the shopping mall con-
struction, entered into a subcontract with Earth Technology, Inc., a Connecticut-based environmental con-
tractor, to provide site preparation services, including soil excavation. TOMICIC served as Earth Technol-
ogy's project manager on the project. He also had an ownership interest in Recycle Technology, LLC, a
contaminated fuel, soil disposal, and recycling company located in Charlton, Massachusetts. During the site
preparation work, a portion of the soil was found to contain high levels of lead. The contaminated soil was
transported to and disposed of at a facility in New Jersey at a price of $127.50 per ton. Using Recycle
Technology as a so-called "broker," TOMICIC directed Williams McCambridge, who served as the nomi-
nal owner of Recycle Technology, to receive the invoices for $127.50 per ton and then re-invoice Earth
Technology at a price of $218 per ton. TOMICIC then took Recycle Technology invoices provided to Earth
Technology, marked them up another 15 percent, and fraudulently passed the resulting $250.70 per ton
price to Plaza Construction Company and Atlas Park, LLC, the shopping mall developer. When asked for
competitive bids related to the disposal costs after Chubb Insurance, the site liability insurer, had requested
them, TOMICIC fabricated two bids to give the false appearance that the $218 per ton price purportedly
proposed by Recycle Technology was the low bid among three competitive bids. The trial evidence showed
the fabricated bids caused the insurance company to pay more on the claim than it would otherwise have
paid. TOMICIC was ordered to pay restitution of $90,000 to Chubb Insurance. McCambridge pleaded
guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on July 7, 2009, and awaits sentencing.
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Louisiana Wastewater Manager Sentenced for Illegally Discharging Pollutants into the Red River
On June 20, 2012, CODY TUMA, of Shreveport, Louisiana, was
sentenced in federal district court for the Western District of Lou-
isiana to five years of supervised probation after having pled guilty
to one misdemeanor count of discharges to the Red River, in viola-
tion of the CWA. Tuma faced up to a year in prison and/or a fine
of up to $100,000.00, however, the government filed a motion
seeking a downward departure from the sentencing guidelines for I
Tuma's cooperation. Tuma was plant operator in 2005 and night
shift supervisor in 2006 at Arkla Disposal Services, Inc. (Arkla).
The Arkla facility, located in Shreveport, was a centralized waste-'
water treatment facility that received wastewater from industrial This pipe tithe first underwater extension of
Arkla s river outfall. The underwater piping
processes and oilfield exploration and production facilities. Arkla prevented the detection of the illegal river dis-
contracted to treat the wastewater through a multi-step treatment charges.
process and then discharge the treated wastewater to either the city of Shreveport's publicly owned treat-
ment works or to the Red River. Between January 2005 and August 2005, Tuma negligently discharged
and caused to be discharged pollutants into the Red River without a permit. His father, John Tuma, was
convicted by a jury on all five counts in an indictment against him which included violations of the Clean
Water Act, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice related to illegal discharges coming from the Arkla Dis-
posal Services, Inc. John Tuma is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, 2012. This case was investigated
by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Western District of Louisiana and the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.
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EPA Bulletin June 2012 5
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The tug 'Pathfinder' moored in Valdez after grounding.
Photograph: US Coast Guard
Tugboat Captain Sentenced for Hitting Reef in Alaska On June 15, 2012, RONALD MONSEN, of
Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced to 36
months of probation with the first six months to
be spent on home confinement. He was also
fined $15,000 and ordered to provide 50 hours
of community service. Monsen's sentence was
the result of his guilty plea and conviction for
violating the federal Clean Water Act. Monsen
was a captain in command of the Pathfinder
Tug operated by Crowley Maritime Corpora-
tion. On December 23, 2009, the Pathfinder was
conducting ice scouting operations in the area
of Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska.
After scouting for ice, Captain Monsen kept the Pathfinder in Prince William Sound until it was time to
communicate his ice report at 6 PM, expecting that he would then be released from scout duty and allowed
to return to Valdez harbor. While waiting until 6 PM, Monsen altered the auto-pilot course back to Valdez
by manually by-passing or skipping two way points on the pre-programmed Global Positioning System
course that would safely guide the Pathfinder's travel out of Prince William Sound and back to Valdez har-
bor. By skipping these two way points, Monsen set a course that, once it was engaged, would steer the Path-
finder directly to Rocky Point way point. After Monsen by-passed these two way points, but before it was
time to engage this course and return to Valdez, the Pathfinder continued to travel slowly to the southeast,
putting the vessel due south of Bligh Reef. As the vessel traveled, Bligh Reef was soon directly in the path
between the Pathfinder and the Rocky Point way point. At 6 PM, the second mate called in the ice report and
the tug was released from ice duty. Monsen then placed both engines full speed ahead, and engaged the auto-
pilot to steer the vessel directly to the Rocky Point way point. He did not chart his position or attempt to de-
termine his exact location via GPS or any other method. As a result, when Monsen engaged this course, he
did not know the location of the Pathfinder, was unaware that the vessel was 1.5 miles due south of Bligh
Reef, and did not recognize that he had set a course that was taking the Pathfinder directly into the reef. Af-
ter making the course change, Monsen instructed the second mate to make an entry in the logbook, but he
did not observe that the vessel was headed directly toward the reef, Monsen did not check the vessel's loca-
tion or the location of the reef in relation to his course. The vessel was left on autopilot with no one at the
controls. Had Monsen not deleted the two way points earlier in the evening, the Pathfinder would have
steered northwest, back to these points, and clear I
of Bligh Reef. Instead the Pathfinder headed due
north and ran aground on Bligh Reef at approxi-
mately 6:14 PM on December 23. As a result of I
the grounding, the Pathfinder's keel and tanks
were breached and the vessel discharged ap-
proximately 6,410 gallons of fuel, causing a visi-1
ble sheen on the water of Prince William Sound.
The judge in the case called Monsen's conduct I
grossly negligent. In determining an appropriate
sentence, the judge took into account that as a
result Of his conduct Monsen no longer had a Oti spill containment booms surround'Pathfinder'following itspre
pilot's license and was no longer employed as a -Christmasgrounding. Photograph:MercatorMedia
captain.
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EPA Bulletin June 2012 6
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International Product Support Company Senior Vice President Sentenced for the Illegal Purchase
and Sale of Smuggled Ozone-Depleting Refrigerant Gas - On June 26, 2012, CARLOS A. GARCIA
was sentenced in federal district court for the Southern Dis-
trict of Florida to 13 months in prison, followed by two
years of supervised release, including four months of home
confinement under electronic monitoring for his role in the
illegal receipt, purchase, and sale of ozone-depleting refrig-
erant gas that had been smuggled into the United States in
violation of the Clean Air Act.
Garcia pled guilty in April, 2012 to a charge of know-
ingly receiving, buying, selling and facilitating the trans-
portation, concealment, and sale of approximately 13,600
kilograms of the ozone-depleting substance hydrochloro-
fluorocarbon-22 (HCFC-22), a widely used refrigerant for
residential heat pump and air-conditioning systems. Gar-
cia's employer, Mar-Cone Appliance Parts Co. (Marcone),
was previously convicted and sentenced for its role in the
illicit con-
Container shipped by Kroy Corporation (a convicted
defendant in a separate investigation) where the
smuggled refrigerant was hidden behind some legal
refrigerant. It was subsequently shipped to Marcone
during a monitored delivery as part of a undercover
operation initially targeted at Kroy.
duct and ordered to pay a $500,000 criminal fine, a $400,000
community service payment, and was ordered to forfeit to
the United States $190,534.70 in illegal proceeds.
Garcia was senior vice-president of Marcone's Heating
and Cooling Division, responsible for executing legal pur-
chases and sales of refrigerant gas. Instead, Garcia engaged
in a pattern of conduct to purchase and sell black market
HCFC-22. The investigation revealed that Garcia routinely
arranged the purchase of HCFC-22 from importers who did
not hold the required unexpended consumption allowances,
totaling approximately 55,488 kilograms of restricted HCFC
-22, with a fair market value of approximately $639,458.
The refrigerant gas was routinely distributed by Marcone
throughout
EPA Special Agents tunneled down the left side of
the container and discovered the smuggled refrig-
erant while still at the Port. Garcia claimed he
never purchased imported refrigerant and this was
an essential part of the evidence to show the refrig-
erant they received was indeed Chinese.
Entire contents of one of the three containers that Kroy
had imported and had promised the smuggled portion
to Marcone. EPA Special Agents did not allow the
third container to be delivered and seized it instead.
the United
States.
This matter and others involving the smuggling and
distribution of ozone-depleting substances are being in-
vestigated through a multi-agency initiative that includes
EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, known as Opera-
tion Catch-22. Operation Catch-22 has, to date, resulted
in the successful conviction of nearly a dozen individuals
and corporations at every level of the refrigerant gas
smuggling and distribution chain.
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EPA Bulletin June 2012 7
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Trials (Back to Quick Links)
'Clean Green Fuel' Owner Convicted of Scheme to Violated EPA Regulations and Sell Fraudulent
Renewable Fuel Credits - On June 26, 2012, RODNEY R. HAILEY, of Perry Hall, Maryland, was con-
victed in federal district court in Maryland of wire fraud, money laundering and a violation of the Clean Air
Act, in connection with a scheme in which he sold $9 million in renewable fuel credits he falsely claimed
were produced by his company, Clean Green Fuel, LLC. According to evidence, Hailey owned Clean
Green Fuel, LLC, located in the Baltimore area. Hailey registered Clean Green Fuel with the EPA as a pro-
ducer of bio-diesel fuel, a motor vehicle fuel derived from renewable resources that can be used like any
other motor vehicle fuel. In order to encourage the production of renewable fuel and lessen the nation's de-
pendence on foreign oil, all oil companies that market petroleum in the U.S. are required to produce a given
quantity of renewable fuel or to purchase credits, called renewable identification numbers (RINs) from pro-
ducers of renewable fuels to satisfy their renewable fuel requirements. Between March 2009 and December
2010, Hailey sold over 35 million RINs (representing 23 million gallons of bio-diesel fuel) to brokers and
oil companies for at least $9 million, when in fact Clean Green Fuel had produced no fuel at all and Hailey
did not have a facility capable of producing bio-diesel fuel.
Two civil inspectors from EPA's Air Enforcement Division visited Clean Green's headquarters on July
22, 2010, to inspect Hailey's bio-diesel production facility, in response to a complaint alleging that Clean
Green had been selling false RINs. Hailey was not able to provide an exact location for the bio-diesel fuel
production facility, nor any records to support claims that Clean Green Fuel had produced bio-diesel
fuel. When asked to explain his method of production, Hailey falsely stated that he paid employees and
contractors to recover waste vegetable oil from 2,700 restaurants in the "Delmarva" area and bring it to his
production facility where he converted it to bio-diesel fuel. Hailey claimed that only the drivers who picked
up the oil knew the names of the restaurants, and Hailey could not provide the names of the drivers. Federal
law enforcement agents investigated the scheme after a Baltimore County police detective working with
Maryland's federal financial crimes task force received a report about the large number of luxury cars
parked in front of Hailey's house. The financial crimes task force contacted the EPA's Criminal Investiga-
tion Division and initiated a criminal investigation.
Hailey used the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme to purchase luxury vehicles as well as real estate and
jewelry. In all of these transactions, Hailey generally used cash or checks drawn on accounts he controlled
to make the purchase, including a check for $645,330.15 to buy his home in Perry Hall. The government
seeks forfeiture of the cars, jewelry, property and bank accounts already seized by the government, as well
as any other proceeds traceable
to the offense, in order to sat-
isfy a monetary judgment of $9
million. Hailey faces a maxi-
mum sentence of 20 years in
prison for each of eight counts
of wire fraud; 10 years in
prison for each of 32 counts of
money laundering and two
years in prison for each of two
counts of violating the Clean
Air Act. Sentencing is sched-
uled for October 11, 2012.
Back to Ton Items purchased by Hailey from the proceeds of the wire fraud scheme which were
seized by the government.
EPA Bulletin June 2012 8
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Plea Agreements (Back to Quick Links)
Inside Blue Marsh Laboratories
Environmental Testing Lab Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Falsifying Test Results On June 11,
2012, MICHAEL J. McKENNA, president, laboratory direc-
tor, and owner of BLUE MARSH LABORATORIES, INC.,
pled guilty to conspiracy, making a false material statement in a
report, record and document required to be filed under the Clean
Water Act, and making a false statement in a matter within the
jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Sen-
tencing has been set for September 10, 2012. Blue Marsh Labo-
ratories, Inc., located in Douglassville, Pennsylvania, and Mi-
chael McKenna were engaged in the business of analytical test-
ing of environmental samples, including water and wastewater
samples, in order to determine the amounts of pollutants and
levels of other chemicals present in the water. From approximately September 2005 through October 2005,
the defendants prepared and mailed false and fraudulent test results for Hurricane Katrina flood water sam-
ples which were required by EPA to be tested for contamination by various pollutants, including, among
others, cyanide, and the herbicides MCPA and MCPP. From approximately June 2006 through December
2006, the defendants prepared and mailed false and fraudulent water test results required by the United
States Army Corps of Engineers for four separate reservoirs which were required to be tested for contami-
nation by various pollutants. From approximately July 2007 through September 2007, the defendants pre-
pared and sent false and fraudulent test results required by the FDA for the testing of certain fruit, that is,
tangelos, which had been imported from South America, and which were required to be tested for contami-
nation by pesticides. At various times in 2006 and 2007, the defendants prepared and submitted false and
fraudulent environmental test reports to the Upper Moreland/Hatboro Joint Sewer Authority, the Gloucester
County Utilities Authority and Upper Merion Township Industrial Pre-Treatment Program permit holders
Elan Pharmaceutical Research Corp., Merck and Company, and Hope's Country Fresh Cookies in connec-
tion with the analyses and testing of water samples for various types of pollutants, which these customers
were required by law to report to EPA.
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Former Oil Well Owner and Operator Pleads Guilty to Negligent Discharge into Creek On June 21,
2012, KENT PHILLIPS, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, plead guilty in federal district court for the West-
ern District of Louisiana, to negligently discharging oil without a permit into Devil's Creek in violation of
the Clean Water Act. Phillips was a corporate officer and owner of Kepco Operating, Inc, an oil production
company operating and leasing oil field sites near Jena, Louisiana, including the Hailey #2 well site. Sen-
tencing has been set for October 10, 2012.
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Vfc
EPA Bulletin June 2012 9
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Scrap being loaded into one of the two scrap dryers at
Spectra Alloys
Minnesota Secondary Aluminum Processing Company Pleads Guilty to False Statement Charges
On June 7, 2012, SPECTRO ALLOYS CORPORA-
TION, a Minnesota company that operates a secondary
aluminum processing facility in Rosemount, Minnesota,
pleaded guilty in federal district court for the District of
Minnesota, to two counts of violating the federal false
statements statute. The crimes involved Spectre's failure
to disclose violations of limits placed on its emissions of
hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. An In-
formation charging Spectro with the two counts was filed
on May 2, 2012. According to the documents filed in this
case, Spectro processes large quantities of various types of
scrap metal, which are melted in two large industrial fur-
naces before being processed into aluminum alloys. The
furnaces and other equipment at the Spectro facility are
typically found in secondary aluminum reprocessing facilities but can be sources of various hazardous air pol-
lutants. As a result, the emissions from Spectre's equipment, including its furnaces, are regulated under the
federal Clean Air Act, and the company is required to operate subject to a permit that sets out the legal limits
for emissions of pollutants. The permit also requires the company to disclose to the EPA and the Minnesota
Pollution Control Agency ("MPCA") all instances known where emissions exceed those limits. In its plea
agreement, Spectro admitted that in May of 2007, it submitted a semi-annual compliance report to both the
MPCA and the EPA that falsely indicated that its facility was in compliance with all pollution limits. The
company failed to disclose that its own testing had revealed excessive emissions of dioxin/furans, which are
hazardous air pollutants. In a letter sent to the EPA in March 2007, which was submitted in response to a vio-
lation notice issued by the EPA, Spectro further admitted that the company failed to disclose those excessive
dioxin/furans emissions. Following its guilty plea, Spectro was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $500,000,
and was placed on probation for two years. Spectro also was ordered to develop, implement, and maintain
procedures to ensure complete and accurate reporting in the future. In addition, Spectro must retain a full-time
environmental health and safety manager and report to both the MPCA and EPA the results of all emissions
testing, whether or not required by law.
This criminal investigation has been conducted parallel to a civil investigation of alleged violations of the
Clean Air Act. The United States recently reached a settlement with Spectro regarding civil claims filed by
the EPA for these alleged violations, and this settlement was included in a consent decree lodged with the
District Court on March 6, 2012. The consent decree, which is awaiting court approval, resolves allegations
that in 2009, the company emitted dioxin/furans and hydrochloric acid in amounts exceeding federal emis-
sions limits; that the company failed to install, operate, and inspect an adequate system to capture and treat its
emissions; and that between 2004 and 2008, it violated various
Clean Air Act regulations regarding monitoring, reporting, and
temperature maintenance. The consent decree also settles al-
leged violations of federal law governing the storage of hazard-
ous waste at the Spectro facility without a permit required un-
der the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Under the
proposed consent decree, Spectro will pay a civil penalty of
$600,000, install more pollution control equipment, conduct
additional testing, and accurately comply with all reporting re-
quirements.
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EPA Bulletin June 2012 10
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Missouri Man Admits to Falsifying Documents for Vehicle Owners On June 15, 2012, SEDRIX
BLUMINGBURG pled guilty to one count of mail fraud
for falsifying documentation for vehicle owners regarding
titling of vehicles, auto emissions tests, and sales taxes,
during his employment at Sure Start Battery & Tire Com-
pany in St. Louis. Another defendant, Michael Terry, is
also expected to sign a plea agreement in the coming
weeks. The legitimate business of Sure Start was general
vehicle repair, including safety and auto emissions test-
ing. Blumingburg conducted false safety and auto emis-
sions tests and provided false safety documentation to ve-
hicle owners for compensation to bypass the Missouri
' state laws associated with vehicle safety and EPA regula-
tions. He also created false documents showing vehicle insurance; false bill of sale documents on motor
vehicles reducing the actual sales price to lower the amount of state sales tax due; and paid personal prop-
erty tax receipts for vehicle owners to register their vehicles, all of which they personally delivered to the
Missouri Department of Revenue office. Blumingburg received illegal payments from the vehicle owners
for these services. These documents were processed by fee/contract clerks as true and correct and sent to
the Missouri Department of Revenue, depriving Missouri of fees and taxes. This case was investigated by
the EPA/CID, the Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri Highway Patrol, Missouri Department of
Natural Resources, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the St. Louis County Police De-
partment. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
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EPA Bulletin June 2012 11
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Ohio Valley Coal Company Pleads Guilty to Clean Water Act Crimes - On June 28, 2012, THE OHIO
VALLEY COAL COMPANY (TOVCC) pleaded guilty in federal dis-
trict court for the Southern District of Ohio to criminal violations of the
Clean Water Act in connection with two coal slurry release incidents that
polluted Captina Creek, Belmont County, Ohio. The plea agreement docu-
ments $7,050,000 in fines and expenditures related to the incidents. Spe-
cifically, the plea agreement calls for TOVCC to pay a criminal fine of
$500,000 and to pay restitution to the Ohio Environmental Protection
Agency of $87,000 for restoration activities in Captina Creek. In addition,
TOVCC certified that it has spent $6,000,000 by the installation of a pipe-
line system with double-walled features between American Energy Corpo-
Slurry in Captina Creek
(2008 Incident)
Captina Creek contaminated with
slurry (2010 Incident)
ration and TOVCC, designed to improve pipeline integrity. TOVCC will implement and install such equip-
ment and provide employees with requisite training to force a shutdown of the flow of slurry in the pipeline
from AEC to TOVCC in the event of a pipeline failure.
TOVCC admitted that in early 2008 they negligently discharged
wastewater from its impoundment at Powhatan Mine No. 6 through a
decant pipe into Perkins Run which flows into Captina Creek in viola-
tion of its state NPDES permit issued under the CWA by negligently
failing to monitor for flow and pollutants in such discharges as required
by the permit. As a result TOVCC discharged slurry to the creek and
turned the creek dark downstream. TOVCC further admitted that in the
fall of 2010, a pipeline rupture in the slurry pipeline which conveys
slurry from AEC to the TOVCC slurry impoundment resulted in the di-
rect discharge of untreated slurry waste water into Captina Creek, negli-
gently bypassing TOVCC's treatment works, in violation of TOVCC's i
state NPDES permit issued under the CWA. As a result, thousands of
gallons of slurry had bypassed the treatment works and had been dis-
charged from the pipeline into Captina Creek before the flow from the
AEC pipeline was stopped. The discharge discolored Captina creek for|
approximately 1.5 miles downstream and resulted in a fish kill.
TOVCC has agreed to a global resolution of the matters which are the
subject of the plea agreement by coordinating the resolution of the fed-
eral criminal case with the Ohio EPA (OEPA) and Ohio Department of
Natural Resources (ODNR) civil cases. TOVCC has agreed to: (1) pay
the ODNR a $91,000.00 penalty and $4,000.00 for all natural resource damages, which includes any fish,
amphibians, wildlife and any pending or unasserted penalties or assessments from ODNR for the 2010
slurry discharge from the pipeline incident (2) pay the OEPA, an administrative fine in the amount of
$184,000.00 for violations of Ohio environmental law involving the 2008 slurry discharges, and pay OEPA
an administrative fine in the amount of $184,000.00 for the 2010 slurry discharge.
Two managers of TOVCC previously pleaded guilty to environmental crimes associated with the 2008
slurry release. On May 26, 2011, David Bartsch, environmental manager at TOVCC, was sentenced to one
year of probation, 104 hours of community service, and a $2,500 criminal fine based on his conviction for
negligently failing to report discharges from the TOVCC impoundment in January 2008. On June 22, 2011,
Donald Meadows, a manager for TOVCC, was sentenced to one year of probation, 156 hours of community
service, and a $2,500 criminal fine for his conviction for negligently violating the CWA by allowing the
discharge of collected slurries from an impoundment into Captina Creek on or about February 28, 2008.
to Top EPA Pub. 310-N-12-006
EPA Bulletin June 2012 12
Depth of Slurry in Captina Creek
(2010 Incident)
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