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Pleasantville Man Falsified Certificates of Well Plugging, Faces 5-Year Sentence
A resident of Pleasantville, Pennsylvania, has pleaded guilty to a charge of making false statements in matters relevant to permits issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Ronald A. Wright, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements before United States District Judge David S. Cercone.
Wright falsified certificates of well plugging, falsely claiming that he had properly plugged abandoned oil wells between September 2009 and April 2011. These forms were relied upon by the EPA in regards to permits issued for Class II injection wells. The approval process for these injection wells required all abandoned wells within a quarter mile of the injection well site to have first been properly plugged.
Inspectors with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) discovered that injected fluid had entered the bottom of an abandoned well because it had not been properly plugged to the bottom on January 12, 2012. Further investigation revealed that many of the wells that were plugged by Wright were not plugged as he claimed in the certificates of well plugging.
According to the information presented in court, the discovery of Wright’s falsification of the plugging reports has required the re-inspection, and likely re-drilling and re-plugging, of 95 wells. The law provides for a total sentence of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.
Assistant United States Attorney Marshall J. Piccinini is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. The Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General – Environmental Crimes Section, and the U.S. Forest Service – Law Enforcement and Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Wright.
Judge Cercone scheduled sentencing for December 22, 2014 at 1:30 p.m. Pending sentencing, the court continued Wright on bond. Documents submitted to the government must be accurate and honest, said David G. McLeod, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in the Middle Atlantic states.
Key Facts
- State: Pennsylvania
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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