United States Environmental Protection Agency SEPA Criminal Enforcement Alert Volume 1, Issue 3 July 2013 EPA Targets Clean Water Act Crimes - Illegal Pollution by Animal Confinement Operations Punished by Fines and Incarceration One of EPA's national enforcement initiatives is reduc- ing animal waste pollution from livestock and poultry operations that impair our nation's waters, threaten drinking water sources, and adversely impact vulnerable communities by illegally discharging manure, litter, or process wastewater into waters of the United States. Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are a subset of livestock and poultry Animal Feeding Opera- tions (AFOs) that meet the regulatory thresholds of number of animals for various animal types. These op- erations generate significant volumes of animal waste which, if improperly managed, can result in environ- mental and human health risks such as water quality impairment, fish kills, algai blooms, contamination of drinking water sources, and transmission of disease- causing bacteria and parasites associated with food and waterborne diseases. The Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes EPA to take en- forcement action against persons who discharge ma- nure or other pollutants into waters of the United States without (or in violation of) a permit. As part of EPA's ongoing enforcement initiative, the Agency's Criminal Investigation Division, together with the Department of Justice and state partners, has pursued numerous crimi- nal enforcement actions against persons who knowingly or negligently discharge animal wastes. Courts in North Carolina and Oregon recently handed down prison terms along with six-and seven-figure fines following criminal convictions for illegal manure discharges. The intent of this EPA Criminal Enforcement Alert is to increase public awareness of the consequences of knowing or negligent CWA violations by animal con- finement operations. Important Points to Remember Farmers depend on a healthy environment, and most agricultural operations work hard to meet their environ- mental stewardship responsibilities. As in any business, however, a few put profits ahead of their legal obliga- tions. EPA's criminal enforcement actions are reserved for the most serious violations of environmental laws. Prosecution is intended to deter other potential violators; eliminate the temptation to "pay to pollute;" and help ensure that operators who do follow the rules won't face unfair competition from those that break the law. Owners or operators of animal confinement opera- tions can be criminally prosecuted under the CWA if they knowingly or negligently discharge pollutants from a point source (such as lagoons, tanks, pipes, or other conveyances) into waters of the United States without a permit. Fish Kill -1- EPA 31Q-N-13-013 ------- Criminal Enforcement Alert - Recent Prosecutions EPA and state partners work together to identify, inves- tigate, and prosecute criminal violations of the CWA. CWA criminal convictions result in fines, restitution, and/or incarceration. Regardless of the size of an animal confinement opera- tion, any person who knowingly or negligently violates the CWA by discharging pollutants from a point source to waters of the United States without permit authori- zation faces potential criminal liability. Freedman Farms, Inc.: $1.5 M Combined Fine/ Penalties, 5 Years Probation, 6 Months Imprisonment for its President William Holdner: $300,000 Fine, 5 Days Imprisonment, 3 Years Probation Volbeda Dairy: $30,000 Fine, 3 Years Probation Anders Knudsen: $10,315 Combined Fines/Penalties Dahlgren Cattle Co., Inc.: $12,000 Fine, 3 Years Proba- tion Stardust and Assen Dairies, et al: $50,000+ Combined Fines/Penalties Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC: $300,000 Combined Fines/ Penalties Van Ham Dairy and MVH Custom Works: $25,000 Combined Fines/Penalties were federally prosecuted for illegal discharges from a lagoon into a stream that leads to the Waccamaw River. Freedman and the company pled guilty to pumping ap- proximately 324,000 gallons of hog manure from a la- goon into the nearby water way. On February 13, 2012, William Freedman was sentenced to 6 months in prison to be followed by 6 months of home confinement. The company was sentenced to pay $1.5 million in fines, res- titution, and community service and placed on proba- tion for 5 years. The court also required the company to implement a comprehensive environmental compliance program and an annual training program and to treat and dispose of hog waste in two lagoons. William Holdner, owner of a Columbus County Oregon cattle operation, was convicted on 27 state criminal counts of water pollution from a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), for illegally discharging cattle waste into Mud Creek and South Scappoose Creek, both EPA 31Q-N-13-013 Freedman Farms, Inc., a Columbus County North Caro- lina hog farm, and its president, William B. Freedman, tributaries of the Columbia River. On March 21, 2012, the Columbia County Circuit Court sentenced Holdner to 5 days incarceration, a $300,000 criminal fine, and 3 years' probation. The Oregon Department of Agricul- ture (ODA) alerted EPA's Criminal Investigation Division (EPA-CID) that Holdner Farms, an unpermitted CAFO, was discharging animal waste into South Scappoose Creek using a manure gun, a device designed to apply manure to crops. EPA-CID and the Oregon State Police assisted ODA in investigating the pollution and permit- ting issues associated with Holdner's criminal conduct. ------- Criminal Enforcement Alert - Recent Prosecutions OTHER STATE PROSECUTIONS disposal of a pollutant, a serious misdemeanor, after admitting that he pumped liquid swine manure from a confinement pit onto the ground for about six hours in late 2009. The discharge flowed through a cornfield and pasture into Otter Creek, which is a tributary of the Ce- dar River, Iowa Department of Natural Resources deter- mined that Knudsen's actions killed 151,086 fish. Knud- sen was sentenced to pay $10,000 in restitution and a $315 fine. Stardust and Assen Dairies, with Beam Custom Applica- tion, and two individuals were prosecuted in late 2010 by the State of Ohio for multiple illegal discharges of manure that caused significant fish kills. The dairies hired Joe Beam and his company to land apply manure from their operations. Beam's repeated decisions to over-apply manure on saturated fields in violation of nutrient management requirements caused discharges that killed more than 6,000 fish and other aquatic organ- isms in the East Fork of Paint Creek. The state prose- cuted Beam and his company, both dairies, and dairy- man Petrus Assen. Those five defendants paid $10,000 in total fines, more than $35,000 in restitution to the Ohio EPA for the environmental damage, and an addi- tional $6,000 for community service. Moreover, the two dairies were required to submit letters to state farm journals accepting responsi- bility for their involvement in the illegal pollution. OTHER FEDERAL PROSECUTIONS Dahlgren Cattle Co. Inc, a large feed-lot located in Ber- trand, Nebraska, was federally prosecuted in 2010 after over-applying liquid manure and water to a field, lead- ing pollutants to flow through a drainage ditch into the 560-acre federally owned Cottonwood Waterfowl Pro- duction Area. The company paid a $12,000 criminal fine and was placed on 3 years' probation. This was not the first violation for Dahlgren as the company was fined $49,000 by a Nebraska court in 2007 for illegal manure discharges. Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC, a CAFO and the largest egg pro- ducer in Ohio, was federally prosecuted in 2009 for ille- gally discharging egg wash water into Kreisell Ditch, a tributary of Tymochtee Creek. The discharges resulted from the company's over-application of wastewater from its wash water lagoon onto fields where workers turned on the spray application system and left it run- ning unattended throughout the night. The wastewater then ran into nearby surface waters. After pleading guilty, the company paid a fine of $150,000 and made a separate community service payment of $150,000 to three charitable environmental or- ganizations. Volbeda Dairy was prosecuted by the State of Oregon in 2011 for illegal wa- ter pollution. The large CAFO, oper- ated by John and Lucyann Volbeda, had been previously cited for discharg- ing pollutants into Truax Creek in vio- lation of the Clean Water Act and set- tled that charge with the EPA by pay- ing an $8,000 fine. Following that civil enforcement action, multiple addi- tional discharges in 2009 led to the criminal prosecution. The company was sentenced to a $30,000 criminal fine and 3 years of probation. Anders Knudsen was prosecuted by the state of Iowa in 2010 for illegal discharges from his swine nursery, which caused a fish kill. Knudsen was convicted of negligent -3- EPA 31Q-N-13-013 ------- Criminal Enforcement Alert - Recent Prosecutions Van Ham Dairy and MVH Custom Works, the custom manure applicator for the dairy, were prosecuted in 2009 by the State of Ohio for the discharge of liquid ma- nure from the dairy's lagoon into a field and then a nearby tributary. The discharge occurred when MVH flooded a field with manure, which then flowed into the tributary. The Dairy, owned by Jan Van Ham, and MVH, owned by Mark Van Ham, were each sentenced to pay $10,000 penalties to the state. This penalty follows on a prior $5,000 fine by the State of Ohio for multiple unau- thorized discharges to a tributary of the Blanchard River. Compliance Information Available Most states offer an abundance of information through extension services to assist owners and operators of ani- mal feeding operations in complying with the law. Some even offer financial assistance. There are pro- grams for developing conservation plans, including best management practices for nutrient management, ma- nure management, and practices to minimize impacts to water quality, while improving crop and livestock pro- duction. Finally, EPA provides information through the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance's Agri- culture Compliance Assistance Center available at http://www.epa.gov/agriculture/anafowat.html. Report potential violations at: www.epa.gov/tips. Read more about EPA's Criminal Enforcement Program at: www2.epa.gov/enforcement/criminal-enforcement -4- EPA 310-N-13-013 ------- |