Lasalle, Colorado – Michael Eugene Cervi, the former owner of Envirocycle, was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay over $250,000 in fines and restitution after admitting to a deliberate scheme to conceal a leak at a wastewater injection well used for oil drilling byproducts. The case, brought by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), highlights the dangers of improper waste disposal and the potential for environmental and public health hazards.
Envirocycle, operating near LaSalle in 2001, was contracted to manage wastewater – a highly toxic brine containing chemicals like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene – generated from oil and gas operations. When employees, including the Bernals, discovered a failure in the well’s leak detection system, Cervi didn’t order repairs. Instead, he allegedly directed them to bypass the system entirely, creating a fraudulent sampling point fed with clean water. This allowed Envirocycle to submit falsified reports to the Weld County Health Department, masking the ongoing leak of dangerous pollutants.
The deception continued until August 2002, when Cervi sold Envirocycle to Conquest Oil. Conquest quickly uncovered the manipulated leak detection system in December 2002 and immediately initiated repairs and a costly cleanup operation around the injection well. Had the leak gone undetected, authorities believe it could have posed a significant threat to both human and wildlife health, contaminating groundwater and potentially impacting the surrounding ecosystem.
Federal prosecutors charged Cervi on April 14, 2005, with a willful violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), specifically 42 U.S.C. 300h-2(b)(2). Cervi pled guilty on May 27, 2005. On September 9, 2005, he received a 60-month (five-year) prison sentence, followed by five months of home detention. He was also fined $30,000 and ordered to pay $233,000 in restitution to Conquest Oil for the cleanup costs. The Bernals, who were also charged and pled guilty to violating the SDWA, each received 60 months of unsupervised probation and were ordered to pay $3,000 in fines on September 19, 2005 and again on March 21, 2006.
The EPA’s criminal enforcement case serves as a stark warning to companies handling hazardous waste. Intentional circumvention of environmental regulations, particularly those designed to protect drinking water sources, will be aggressively prosecuted. The case underscores the importance of robust monitoring and reporting systems, and the severe consequences of prioritizing profit over public safety and environmental integrity.
Key Facts
- Defendant: Michael Eugene Cervi, and the Bernals
- Location: LaSalle, Colorado
- Year: 2005 (crimes occurred in 2001-2002)
- Crime: Willful violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
- Statute Violated: 42 U.S.C. 300h-2(b)(2)
- Penalties: Cervi – 60 months incarceration, 5 months home detention, $30,000 fine, $233,000 restitution. The Bernals – 60 months probation, $3,000 fine each.
- Details: Cervi directed employees to bypass a failing leak detection system on a wastewater injection well and submit falsified samples.
GrimyTimes will continue to follow this case and report on any further developments.
Source: EPA ECHO Enforcement Case Database
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