Acuity Specialty Products, Inc., Violating Clean Water Act, Georgia 2007

Atlanta, GA – Acuity Specialty Products, Inc., a chemical blending facility in Atlanta, has been sentenced to three years of probation and a $3.8 million federal fine after admitting to knowingly violating the Clean Water Act. The guilty plea, entered on June 29, 2007, concludes a multi-year investigation into the company’s systematic efforts to deceive environmental regulators and conceal illegal wastewater discharges.

According to court documents, Acuity engaged in a deliberate scheme to manipulate wastewater sampling results and reporting data submitted to the City of Atlanta Watershed Department. Between at least September 1998 and November 2002, employees actively altered wastewater flow during inspections, introducing tap water to dilute effluent and render the samples inaccurate. This practice, pre-dating the hiring of former Director of Environmental Compliance Daniel Schaffer, was designed to mislead authorities about the true composition and volume of pollutants being released from the facility.

The investigation revealed that Acuity not only falsified flow measurements and submitted inaccurate reports but also failed to report significant discharge events altogether. These unreported incidents included a 10,000-gallon phosphorus discharge in 2000 and a substantial acid spill in March 2002, highlighting a pattern of blatant disregard for environmental regulations. The use of a garden hose to directly dilute effluent before sampling was discovered by city inspectors in November 2002, triggering the initial probe.

“The guilty plea today shows that corporations will be held accountable through criminal prosecution if they allow managers and employees to mislead environmental agencies and seek to hide Clean Water Act violations,” stated Ronald Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, at the time of the sentencing. Acting U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates characterized the sentence as the harshest ever imposed in the Northern District of Georgia for an environmental violation, sending a strong message to the business community.

The case underscores the EPA’s commitment to aggressively pursuing environmental crimes and ensuring corporate accountability. Grant Nakayama, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance, emphasized that falsifying sampling results would not be tolerated and would result in prosecution. Schaffer, Acuity’s former Environmental Compliance Director, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act in February 2006 and is awaiting sentencing, further illustrating the scope of the fraudulent activity.

Table of Contents

Key Facts

Defendant: Acuity Specialty Products, Inc.
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Crime: Violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1311(a) & 33 U.S.C. 1319(c)(2)(A))
Scheme: Diluting wastewater with tap water and falsifying discharge reports.
Penalties: 3 years probation, $3.8 million federal fine, $400 special assessment fee.
Unreported Discharges: A 10,000-gallon phosphorus discharge (2000) and an acid spill (March 2002).

The investigation was conducted by the EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Jones, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Kroening, and Senior Trial Attorney Daniel Dooher of the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section. This case serves as a stark reminder of the severe consequences awaiting companies that prioritize profit over environmental compliance and public health.

Source: EPA ECHO Enforcement Case Database

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