Related Federal Cases
- FDIC Pushes Back GENIUS Act Stablecoin Application Deadline · Connecticut
- Letitia James, Environmental Law Violation, New York 2024 · Connecticut
- Letitia James, Tariff Imposition Violation, Washington 2023 · Connecticut
- Deirdre M. Daly, Election Fraud, Connecticut 2016 · Connecticut
- Freddie Gonzalez, Supervised Release Violation, CT 2024 · Puerto Rico
Marmon Utility LLC Fined $2.4 Million for Clean Water Act Violation
Marmon Utility LLC, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, has been sentenced to pay $2.4 million for violating the Clean Water Act in Seymour, Connecticut.
The company, which owns and operates the Kerite Power Cable & Pump Cable factory, pleaded guilty to the offense on December 21, 2021.
According to court documents and statements made in court, the Kerite factory manufactures large power cables and generates industrial wastewater containing heavy metals such as lead and zinc. Under its 2015 CT DEEP permit, Marmon Utility was required to properly operate and maintain the wastewater treatment system at the factory to reduce the heavy-metal content by chemical precipitation before the wastewater could be discharged to the sewage treatment plant.
The investigation revealed that Marmon Utility had been cutting back on its environmental compliance program for many years and had not had an employee with an environmental background running its wastewater treatment system since February 2004. When the operator of the wastewater treatment system became ill in March 2016, Marmon Utility ran the system for at least five months with maintenance employees who lacked environmental training and training on the treatment system.
On September 7 and 8, 2016, the superintendent of the Seymour treatment plant observed unusual, rusty brown wastewater flowing into the plant and notified CT DEEP. This rusty brown influent was interfering with the plant’s ability to treat the sewage. The superintendent took samples and determined that the lead concentration of the rusty brown influent was approximately 127 times greater than the plant’s normal lead measurement, and that its zinc concentration was over 10 times the typical zinc concentration.
On September 27 and 29, 2016, CT DEEP and the plant superintendent inspected Marmon Utility’s Kerite facility and concluded that it had discharged the rusty brown influent with the high lead and zinc concentrations on September 7, 8, and 9, 2016. CT DEEP issued a Notice of Violation to Marmon Utility based on, among other evidence:
The Marmon Utility facility manager’s statements (1) that the wastewater treatment operator had not been at the facility since the end of March 2016 due to medical reasons; (2) that no sludge had been processed in the filter press since this employee’s departure; and (3) no other Marmon Utility employee had been trained to process sludge as required under the CT DEEP permit.
As a result of the violation, Marmon Utility was ordered to pay $2.4 million to the government: $800,000 as a federal penalty and a $1.6 million community service payment to remediate the Naugatuck River, as administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Marmon Utility will be under federal probation for three years.
Defendant: Marmon Utility LLC
Criminal Charges: Violating the Clean Water Act
City and State: Seymour, Connecticut
Exact Date: September 7 and 8, 2016, and December 21, 2021
Sentence: Pay $2.4 million to the government, including $800,000 as a federal penalty and a $1.6 million community service payment
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Environmental Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News