Temple Inland Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Violation of Clean Water Act and Refuge Act in Fish Kill Case
AUSTIN, Texas – TIN, INC. d/b/a Temple Inland, a Delaware Corporation located in Austin, Texas, pled guilty yesterday to negligently causing the discharge of a pollutant from its Bogalusa Facility into the Pearl River and to the negligent taking of fish from the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge, announced United States Attorney Dana Boente.
Temple Inland pled guilty before U. S. District Court Judge Ivan L. R. Lemelle to a two-count Bill of Information charging it with one misdemeanor count for the negligent violation of the Clean Water Act and one misdemeanor count for the negligent violation of the Refuge Act.
The maximum penalty Temple Inland faces for the CWA violation is a fine of up to $200,000 and a term of probation up to five years. The maximum penalty for the Refuge Act violation is a fine of up to $10,000 per taking. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 1, 2013 at 2:00 PM.
The court documents reflect that the charges stem from a release of a pollutant into the Pearl River in August 2011 which resulted in a large fish kill. Temple Inland was required by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to possess and operate the Bogalusa Facility pursuant to a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit. The Permit imposed limitations on the amount of pollutants that could be discharged from the Bogalusa Facility into the Pearl River, a navigable water of the United States.
In the early morning hours of August 9, 2011, and again late on August 9, 2011, a piece of equipment called an “evaporator” became clogged. As a result of the clogged evaporator, an extremely excessive quantity of liquor overflowed from the boil-out tank. The liquor flowed out of the containment area to the wastewater treatment plant and effluent pond, and ultimately into the Pearl River. The discharge reached the Pearl River sometime beginning Wednesday, August 10, 2011, and continued to at least Saturday, August 13, 2011, when the Facility was shut down.
The Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge), a federal wildlife refuge created in 1980, encompassing 36,000 acres of the Pearl River Basin, is located northeast of Slidell, Louisiana, in the Eastern District of Louisiana. The southern swampland is one of the least disturbed in the country. The Pearl River and its tributaries run through the Refuge. The National Wildlife Refuge System, comprises a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
The National Wildlife Refuge System law enacted by Congress prohibited the disturbance, injury or destruction of property and the taking of fish on a National Wildlife Refuge. Temple Inland admitted today that it negligently caused the taking of fish from the Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge. On August 15, 2011, black water, dead fish, and mussels were observed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Defendant: TIN, INC. d/b/a Temple Inland
Criminal Charges: Misdemeanor count for negligent violation of the Clean Water Act and one misdemeanor count for negligent violation of the Refuge Act
City and State: Bogalusa, Louisiana
Exact Date: August 9, 2011
Sentence or Outcome: Sentencing scheduled for May 1, 2013 at 2:00 PM. Maximum penalty for CWA violation is a fine of up to $200,000 and a term of probation up to five years. Maximum penalty for Refuge Act violation is a fine of up to $10,000 per taking.
Related Federal Cases
- Temple Inland, Violating Clean Water Act and Conservation Act, Louisiana 2013 · Louisiana
- Temple Inland, Environmental Pollution, Delaware 2024 · Louisiana
- Shawn Rousell, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Louisiana 2025 · Louisiana
- Thanh Hoa Thi Bui, Embezzlement, Louisiana 2023 · Louisiana
- XPLOR Energy SPV-1, Inc., Clean Water Act Violation, Texas 1997 · Louisiana
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Environment
- 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