Omega Protein Inc, Unlawful Pollutant Discharge, LA 2023

Omega Protein Inc., a Louisiana-based dietary supplement company incorporated in Virginia, has been sentenced to pay $1.2 million after pleading guilty to two felony counts of unlawfully discharging pollutants into the Vermilion River. The company admitted to intentionally dumping contaminated water from its Abbeville plant directly into a canal that feeds the river—violating the Clean Water Act.

The sentence, handed down Wednesday, January 18, 2017, by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter, includes a $1 million fine paid to the federal government and a $200,000 community service payment directed to the Louisiana State Police Emergency Service Unit. The company was also placed on probation for three years, marking a rare corporate conviction in an environmental enforcement case.

According to court evidence, on December 8, 2014, and again on February 1, 2016, a manager at the Abbeville facility ordered employees to connect a hose to a treatment pond and discharge polluted water into a nearby canal. That canal flows directly into the Vermilion River, a federally protected waterway. The discharges were not permitted and bypassed all required environmental safeguards.

John D. Held appeared on behalf of Omega Protein Inc. during the sentencing hearing in Shreveport, Louisiana. The company did not contest the charges, and its guilty plea underscored a pattern of willful disregard for environmental regulations designed to protect public health and natural resources.

The case was jointly investigated by the criminal investigation divisions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Louisiana State Police. Their probe revealed internal directives and operational practices that prioritized convenience over compliance, leading to the illegal discharges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert C. Abendroth prosecuted the case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley emphasized that corporate entities violating environmental laws will be held accountable. “This sentence sends a message: polluters will pay—not just in fines, but in long-term oversight,” Finley stated.