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EPA Press Advisory: (1) California PVC Manufacturer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $4.3 Million Fine; (2) Three Chicago Area Residents Plead Guilty to Clean Water Act Charges; (3) Missouri Trucking Company, Owner Plead Guilty to Clean Air Act Violations; (4) California Pollution Credit Trader Arrested on Wire Fraud ChargesFollowing are some Agency developments which may interest you. If you need more information on any of these subjects, call the appropriate contact. News for release: (Washington, D.C. -- Wednesday, June 30, 2004) Weekly Enforcement and Compliance Wrap Up Christopher Lagan 202-564-7338/lagan.christopher@epa.gov (1) California PVC Manufacturer Agrees to Plead Guilty and Pay $4.3 Million Fine Keysor-Century Corporation, a defunct company which manufactured polyvinyl chloride at its facility in Saugus, Calif., agreed on June 17 to plead guilty to a series of felony charges and pay $4.3 million in criminal and civil penalties for violations of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, for committing mail fraud, defrauding the United States and for civil violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. Specifically, Keysor-Century was charged with knowingly releasing toxic wastewater into the Santa Clara River, illicit emission of air pollutants, falsifying emission reports to state and federal agencies, illegally storing and handling hazardous waste and maintaining its facility in a way that posed a threat of release of hazardous substances into the environment. These substances included vinyl chloride, a flammable gas known to be carcinogenic when inhaled by humans. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, the City of Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Health Hazardous Materials Division with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. (2) Three Chicago Area Residents Plead Guilty to Clean Water Act Charges Kanubhai Patel, of Woodstock, Ill., Manubhai Patel, also of Woodstock, Ill., and Mukesh Patel of Schaumburg, Ill., three owners of New Tech Electronics, Inc., a defunct electronics parts manufacturing firm in Bensenville, Ill., each pled guilty to conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act (CWA) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago on June 15. From approximately April 3, 1997, to approximately December 19, 2001, the New Tech facility violated its CWA discharge permit by discharging higher than permitted concentrations of acidic and caustic wastewater from its manufacturing process into the Bensenville sewer system through a bypass hose. The discharges occurred every one to three weeks. The illegal discharges were diluted in the sewer system by water from a garden hose which was placed into a manhole and hidden from view by a parked car. Discharging acids and caustics into sewers in excess of permits can disrupt the normal processes of sewage treatment plants resulting in outflows that are harmful to fish and other aquatic life. The Bensenville sewage treatment plant discharges into Addison Creek, which is a protected waterway. The case was investigated by the Chicago Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division with assistance from Bensenville wastewater treatment officials and EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago. (3) Missouri Trucking Company, Owner Plead Guilty to Clean Air Act Violations Voss Transportation, Inc., of Cuba, Mo.; and David Voss, owner of Voss Transportation; pled guilty on June 17 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis. Voss Transportation pled to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA), conspiracy to violate Department of Transportation regulations and a negligent violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA). David Voss pled to conspiracy to make a false statement to the government and to violation of the Clean Air Act. In 2001 and 2002 the Voss Truck Port in Cuba, Mo., illegally sold conventional gasoline at two Missouri service stations when they were required by the CAA to sell reformulated gasoline at those stations. The Voss Truck Port also negligently discharged 10,000 gallons of fuel oil into Pleasant Valley Creek in violation of the CWA and failed to notify the National Response Center about the oil spill. Selling gasoline that does not meet CAA requirements contributes to creating an air pollution hazard that can cause distress to individuals with respiratory conditions. Illegally discharging oil into surface waters can harm fish and wildlife and make the waters unsuitable for recreational and drinking water uses. The case was investigated by the St. Louis Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in St. Louis. (4) California Pollution Credit Trader Arrested on Wire Fraud Charges Anne M. Sholtz of Bradbury, Calif., former operator of a bankrupt Pasadena-based internet site called Automated Credit Exchange (ACE) was arrested on June 16 on charges alleging she defrauded AG Clean Air, a New York-based company that trades in energy credits. The affidavit claims that, in 1999, Sholtz approached AG Clean Air and stated that Mobil Corporation needed to purchase a large number of RECLAIM Trading Credits (RTCs) for a refinery in Southern California. RTCs allow a company to emit specific quantities of nitrogen and sulfur oxides into the air. Sholtz allegedly told AG Clean Air that if it gave her $12.5 million to buy the RTCs, Mobil would re-purchase them for $17.5 million. Sholtz allegedly paid AG Clean Air $9 million and then told the company that Mobil was having problems coming up with the rest of the money. The affidavit further states that in 2002, Sholtz admitted to fabricating documents and to having associates impersonate Mobil employees. She allegedly claimed to be forced into these fabrications by an ACE employee who had sold RTCs without her knowledge. The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles. Federal charges are merely an accusation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law. R126 ### Release date:06/30/2004 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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