ILLINOIS ETHANOL FACILITY WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE EMISSIONS, PAY CIVIL PENALTY (05-689)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - MGP Ingredients of Illinois, Inc. (MGP)-an ethanol producing company-has reached a settlement to resolve claims that it violated the Clean Air Act (CAA), which will result in a reduction of over 1,700 tons of air pollutants a year at its ethanol production plant in Pekin, Illinois, the Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the State of Illinois announced today. With today's settlement, approximately 83 percent of the ethanol production capacity nationwide will be under consent decrees requiring new pollution controls. (Read more)

U.S. ANNOUNCES $94 MILLION CLEAN AIR ACT SETTLEMENT WITH CHRYSLER OVER EMISSION CONTROL DEFECTS ON 1.5 MILLION JEEP AND DODGE VEHICLES (05-688)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The United States has reached a settlement with DaimlerChrysler Corporation (Chrysler) to repair defective emission controls on nearly 1.5 million Jeep and Dodge vehicles from model years 1996 through 2001, the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The agreement also settles allegations that the company violated the Clean Air Act (CAA) by failing to properly disclose defective catalytic converters installed on the affected vehicles. (Read more)

SHIP COMPANY TO PAY $10.5 MILLION FOR COVERING UP OIL POLLUTION (05-680)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - MSC Ship Management (Hong Kong) Limited-a Hong Kong-based container ship company-has agreed to plead guilty to charges that it engaged in conspiracy, obstruction of justice, destruction of evidence, false statements and violated the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships, the Department of Justice announced today. Per the terms of a plea agreement that must be approved by the court, MSC Ship Management will pay $10.5 million in penalties. This is the largest fine in which a single vessel has been charged with deliberate pollution and the largest criminal fine paid by a defendant in an environmental case in Massachusetts history. (Read more)

PROJECT MANAGER INDICTED FOR ILLEGAL DREDGING OPERATION IN HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA (05-663)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Michael L. Hayhurst, Jr. was indicted today by a federal grand jury and charged with violating the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act and for covering up illegal discharges of dredged material from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in connection with a dredging operation he supervised in Calibogue Sound in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Read more)

WALNUT, CALIFORNIA RESIDENT INDICTED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES (05-664)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Andrew Anhh Nguyen, a Walnut, California resident, was charged by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles, California with conspiring to import plant specimens protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Department of Justice announced today. Nguyen, who was allegedly conspiring to import into the United States, specimens of cycads-which resemble palms or tree ferns-was also charged with eight counts of customs offenses, including smuggling and importing cycads by means of false declarations and statements, and one count of violating the Endangered Species Act. (Read more)

DEFENDANTS RECEIVE MAJOR JAIL SENTENCES, PAY RESTITUTION FOR MAJOR WETLANDS CRIMINAL PROSECUTION (05-644)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In one of the most significant wetlands criminal enforcement prosecutions in United States history, Robert J. Lucas, Jr.; his daughter, Robbie Lucas; and M. E. Thompson, Jr.; and two affiliated corporations-Big Hill Acres, Inc., and Consolidated Investments, Inc.-were sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. (Read more)

Mcwane, Inc. and Company Executives Sentenced for Environmental Crimes (05-643)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Cast-iron pipe manufacturer McWane Inc. (McWane) and company executives James Delk, Michael Devine, and Charles "Barry" Robison were sentenced today in federal court for environmental crimes connected with the operation of McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company in Birmingham, Alabama. Judge Robert Propst sentenced McWane to pay a fine of $5 million and serve a period of probation for five years. McWane, Inc. is also ordered to perform a community service project valued at $2.7 million. Judge Propst ordered McWane executive James Delk to serve probation for three years, including six months of home detention and a fine of $90,000; Mike Devine received two years of probation, including three months of home detention and a fine of $35,000; and Charles Robinson received two years of probation and a fine of $2,500. Additionally, Robinson will serve 150 hours of community service work. (Read more)

TEXAS MAN AND COMPANY CHARGED WITH ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES (05-621)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Texas man was indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced today. Dennis Rodriguez and his company North American Waste Assistance, LLC (NAWA), located in El Paso, Texas, are each charged with one count of knowingly making a material false statement or representations in manifest used to transport hazardous waste, two counts of transporting hazardous waste to an un-permitted site, and two counts of disposing of hazardous waste without a permit. (Read more)

KARLOG SHIPPING COMPANY, LTD. PLEADS GUILTY TO CONCEALING VESSEL POLLUTION (05-609)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Karlog Shipping Company Ltd. (Karlog Shipping)-operator of a fleet of cargo freighters based in Piraeus, Greece-pleaded guilty to making false statements and obstructing justice in connection with the overboard discharge of waste oil through a hidden bypass pipe on the M/V Friendship, a Greek-registered cargo ship, the Justice Department announced today. (Read more)

MAJOR UTAH IRON PIPE MANUFACTURER, TOP MANAGERS CHARGED IN SIX-YEAR CONSPIRACY TO VIOLATE THE CLEAN AIR ACT AND FALSIFY TESTS TO COVER UP POLLUTION (05-592)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal indictment was returned in Salt Lake City, Utah, charging Pacific States-a manufacturer of cast iron pipe owned by McWane, Inc.-and two managers with committing conspiracy, Clean Air Act (CAA) violations, and submitting false statements to the government, the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. (Read more)

SIXTEEN COMPANIES TO PAY A COMBINED $14.9 MILLION FOR CLEANUP COSTS AT SAN GABRIEL VALLEY SUPERFUND SITE (05-566)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sixteen firms will pay $14.9 million for cleanup costs at the San Gabriel Valley Area 2 Superfund site, the Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. The EPA's cleanup calls for removing contaminants from approximately 30 million gallons per day of contaminated groundwater in and near Baldwin Park, California, benefiting some 85,000 households. (Read more)

U.S . ANNOUNCES MAJOR CLEAN AIR ACT SETTLEMENT WITH LUCITE INTERNATIONAL (05-546)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency have reached a major Clean Air Act (CAA) settlement with Lucite International, Inc. (Lucite) requiring the chemical manufacturer to install pollution controls on three emission sources at its Memphis, Tennessee plant, which will eliminate 6,500 tons of pollution each year. Under the terms of the settlement announced today, Lucite will install an estimated $16 million worth of new pollution controls, in addition to paying a civil penalty of $1.8 million and performing a supplemental environmental project worth $1.3 million. (Read more)

RESIDENT OF PHOENIX, ARIZONA PLEADS GUILTY TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES AT INDUSTRIAL FACILITY (05-543)

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Jeffery L. Springer of Phoenix, Arizona has pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) and the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act (HMTA), the Department of Justice announced. (Read more)

U.S. ANNOUNCES CLEAN AIR AGREEMENT WITH EXXONMOBIL (05-533)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - ExxonMobil has reached a comprehensive Clean Air Act (CAA) agreement that is expected to reduce harmful air emissions by more than 53,000 tons per year at the company's seven United States petroleum refineries, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced. (Read more)

CLEAN WATER ACT AGREEMENT ANNOUNCED WITH THE SANITATION DISTRICT NO. 1 OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY (05-530)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced they have reached a comprehensive Clean Water Act settlement with the Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky. (Read more)

DOJ, EPA Reach Agreement with General Electric to Conduct Hudson River Dredging (05-527)

Taking another significant step toward cleaning up polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) in the Hudson River, the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reached an agreement with the General Electric Company (GE), requiring it to begin the dredging called for in EPA's 2002 Record of Decision for the Hudson River PCB's Superfund site. Under the terms of the consent decree lodged today in federal district court in Albany, New York, GE will construct the sediment transfer/processing facility needed for the project and perform the first phase of the dredging according to design plans being developed under a prior agreement. The dredging is scheduled for the 2007 spring through fall dredging season. Today's agreement also calls for GE to pay EPA up to $78 million for the Agency's past and future costs. EPA has already collected $37 million from GE through past settlements. (Read more)

Virginia Developer Agrees to Restore Destroyed Wetlands (05-510)

Newdunn Associates LLP, and its contractors, Orion Associates and Northwest Contractors (Newdunn) have reached settlements with the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, which will require the firms to completely restore the approximately 26 acres of wetlands in Newport News, VA, the Department of Justice, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced today. The settlements resolve allegations that Newdunn violated the Clean Water Act (CWA). (Read more)

St. Petersburg Resident Pleads Guilty To Violating the Endangered Species Act (05-506)

Ralph Edward Williamson of St. Petersburg, Florida, has pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Endangered Species Act, the Department of Justice announced today. Williamson was charged by a federal grand jury in March 2005 with one felony count of conspiring to violate the Endangered Species Act, to commit false statements, to import plants contrary to law and to violate Plant Protection and Quarantine requirements. He was further charged in the indictment with two counts of smuggling and two misdemeanor counts of violating the Endangered Species Act. The guilty plea was entered pursuant to a plea agreement, allowing Williamson to plea to one broader misdemeanor offense. (Read more)

Illinois Man Indicted for Criminal Violation Of the Clean Water Act (05-495)

An Illinois man was indicted by a federal grand jury for a criminal violation of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency announced today. David Inskeep, who formerly managed and operated the Inwood Dairy, located in Elmwood, Illinois, is charged with one count of knowingly discharging pollutants into waters of the United States without a permit. (Read more)

Motiva Enterprises Settles Federal-State Lawsuit Resulting from Explosion At Delaware City Refinery (05-488)

Motiva Enterprises LLC (Motiva) has agreed to pay $12 million to settle a joint federal-state civil lawsuit arising from a catastrophic explosion in 2001 at the company's former Delaware City refinery that killed one employee, injured several others, and caused a massive discharge of spent sulfuric acid from a ruptured tank, the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Delaware announced today. (Read more)

U.S. Announces Clean Air Agreement With Nation's Largest Hazardous Waste Treatment And Disposal Operator (05-476)

The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a settlement with Clean Harbors Environmental Services that is expected to enhance calculating and reporting on benzene emissions from North America's largest operator of hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities. This settlement involves 10 facilities in eight states. It confirms the proper industry standard for compliance with the Clean Air Act regulation that limits benzene emissions from facilities that treat, store, and dispose of hazardous waste. (Read more)

FACT SHEET: Clean Air Act Settlement With Cargill, Inc. (05-449)

Over the past several years, the Justice Department and EPA have taken an industry-wide approach to environmental law enforcement, by targeting industries with significant compliance problems, including those that have been major sources of air pollution. A chief component of these enforcement actions is compelling companies in violation of the law to install state-of-the-art pollution controls and to build new facilities with controls in place. Recent successes include major settlement agreements with the wood products industry, refineries, and coal utilities sectors. With today's landmark Clean Air Act settlement with grain industry giant Cargill, Inc., 81 percent of uncontrolled ethanol production capacity-those facilities without controls already in place-will now be under federal consent decrees. (Read more)

Federal, Multi-State Clean Air Act Settlement With Cargill, Inc. Secures Major Pollution Reductions (05-448)

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a multi-state Clean Air Act settlement with Cargill, Inc. (Cargill), which will result in a reduction of approximately 30,000 tons of pollution a year and set new standards for limiting harmful emissions from specialty oilseed plants. Cargill is a multi-state agribusiness that owns and operates 27 plants which process corn, wheat, soybeans, and other oilseeds into value-added products used in the food, feed, and ethanol industries. (Read more)

Municipal, Corporate Parties Will Pay $13.9 Million for Cleanup of Major Superfund Site Near Denver (05-427)

The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement under which the City and County of Denver, Waste Management of Colorado, Inc., and six other companies agreed to pay $13.9 million to reimburse money spent by the United States in connection with the Lowry Landfill Superfund Site near Denver, Colorado. The settlement, which resolves three years of litigation, also requires that the settling defendants continue site cleanup and pay costs incurred by the United States with respect to the site in the future. Although initial cleanup of the site is nearly complete, long-term maintenance is expected to cost $43 million and continue for more than 30 years. (Read more)

Cosmed Agrees To Pay $1.5 Million for Clean Air Act Violations (05-423)

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the first nationwide settlement of a Clean Air Act enforcement action for violations of the federal standards for ethylene oxide emissions from sterilization facilities. The settlement was reached with the Cosmed Group, Inc., (Cosmed), headquartered in Jamestown, R.I., which sterilizes products for the food and medical industries. EPA investigations found violations of ethylene oxide Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) requirements at six of the eight sterilization facilities in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, Texas, and California. (Read more)

$100 Million Settlement Reached For Cleanup of the Milltown Reservoir (05-397)

The Atlantic Richfield Company and the NorthWestern Corporation have agreed to complete a $100 million-plus cleanup of the Milltown Reservoir, removing millions of cubic yards of contaminated sediments and decommissioning and removing the Milltown Dam, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency announced today. The State of Montana and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are also signatories to the settlement. (Read more)

Fact Sheet: Justice Department and EPA Efforts to Reduce Sanitary Sewer Overflows (05-389)

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$1 Billion Clean-Up Settlements Reached With Baltimore Co. and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (05-387)

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U.S. and State of Louisiana Announce Clean Water Act Agreement With the City of New Iberia (05-369)

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Virginia Companies Plead Guilty to Environmental Crimes (05-355)

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Formosa Plastics Corporation Settles Federal-State Lawsuit Over Environmental Violations at Delaware City Plant (05-345)

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United States Announces Clean Air Agreements With Valero and Sunoco (05-323)

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U.S. Announces Clean Air Act Settlement With Dupont in New Johnsonville, Tennessee (05-235)

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Clean Water Act Agreement Announced With Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (05-213)

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The Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division Commemorates Earth Day (05-208)

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Glass Company Agrees to Reduce Air Pollution and Pay $929,000 Penalty for Clean Air Act Violations (05-203)

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U.S. and Illinois Announce Clean-Up of West Chicago Superfund Sites (05-202)

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Mobil to Pay Nearly $1 Million for Clean Air Act Violations (05-175)

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United States Settles With Missouri Ethanol Company (05-173)

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Maury County Resident Pleads Guilty to Violating Clean Water Act (05-143)

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U.S. Announces Settlement of Illinois Power Case (05-100)

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McWane Pipe Manufacturing Facility In Texas Will Plead Guilty to Air Violations, Pay $4.5 Million (05-138)

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U.S. Proposes to Settle With Companies At the Kin-Buc Landfill Superfund Site In Edison, New Jersey (05-137)

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U.S. Announces Settlement of Landmark Clean Air Act Case Against Ohio Edison (05-129)

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Federal Court Sentences Motiva Enterprises to $10 Million Criminal Fine (05-127)

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Vice President of Detroit Hazardous Waste Firm Sentenced to 27 Months Imprisonment for Environmental Crimes (05-125)

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Statement of Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales on the Resignation of Assistant Attorney General Thomas L. Sansonetti (05-113)

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MEDIA ADVISORY
Assistant Attorney General Thomas L. Sansonetti and Acting Assistant Administrator Thomas V. Skinner to Hold Conference Call (05-098)

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Defendant Indicted for Environmental Crimes (05-093)

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U.S. Announces Settlement With City of Mccook, Nebraska, to Protect Drinking Water and Improve Sewage Treatment (05-092)

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Two Corporations and Three South Mississippians Convicted of Filling Wetlands and Defrauding Homeowners About Suitability of Lots for Development (05-084)

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Oil Companies Pay EPA to Settle Santa Monica Mtbe Cleanup Costs (05-067)

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U.S. Reaches Agreement With Jewel Food Stores (05-055)

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U.S. Announces Final Agreement to Complete $66 Million Superfund Cleanup in Hylebos Waterway of Commencement Bay (05-046)

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W.R. Grace and Executives Charged With Fraud, Obstruction of Justice, and Endangering Libby, Montana Community (05-048)

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U.S. Announces Clean Air Agreement With Nation's Largest Domestic Refiner (05-035)

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Former DNREC Officer Charged With Illegal Discharge Of Pollutants (05-031)

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Two Ship Engineers Sentenced For Making False Statements To Conceal The Ocean Dumping Of Waste Oil (05-017)

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Settlement Between U.S., Texas, And Chevron Provides Restoration Projects Near Port Arthur, Texas (05-014)

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United States Settles With Kansas Ethanol Company (05-007)

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U.S. Reaches Settlement With Weyerhaeuser Company To Clean Up Paper Mill And Landfill Along The Kalamazoo River (05-001)

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