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7/8/2026
WT Staff
 Knowledge of an environmental crime? Give us a call at 877-52-WATER (877-529-2837), or email info@wtla.us
July 8, 2026 432 pm CDT
CrimeBox
Historic Conviction Fiscal Year 2011; Case ID# CR_2174 (Missouri)
The VP knew in 2006. Acid wastewater discharged to City of St. Joseph was 7 times above acceptable limit for zinc. Justice was delivered in 2011 with fines, restitution and probation.
The Defendants in this case were a company operating in Missouri and the VP in charge of operations in October 2006, when the Clean Water Act violations occurred. The Defendants' business involved extracting soybean oil residue from empty tanks. The liquid transport truck tanks were cleaned with an acid wash followed by clean water rinse. Vegetable oil recovered from the cleaning process was packaged for resale. On at least two occasions in October 2006, untreated process wastewater was released to the municipal sanitary sewer system and publicly owned treatment works, at levels 7 times the acceptable limit for zinc and two to three times the limit for nickel.
In 2011, the company and its VP plead guilty in Federal District Court in Kansas City on a 8-count indictment, for intentionally and negligently releasing acidic and heavy metal contaminated wastewater to the City treatment works.
The Defendants violated their city-issued discharge permit when they failed to pre-treat the waste stream to a level acceptable for the City of St. Joseph treatment works. Acidic wastewater and excess metals present a danger to municipal staff and cause damage to sewer mains, pumps and valves. Compliance with discharge permits is a public trust handed to companies and their directors, managers and staff. Every person involved in handling dangerous contaminants are expected to operate with care and regard for the environment, in protection of drinking water sources, as belonging to every citizen.
When clean water trust has been violated, those responsible are marked with criminal records, fined and supervised for a period of years by officers of the court to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act.
The judge in this case agreed to a plea bargain allowing the Defendants to share responsibility for a $50,000 federal fine, accepting an initial lump sum payment of $5,000 and monthly payments over a five year period. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown, investigated by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the City of St. Joseph, MO.
Federal Fines: $50,000 paid in instalments over five years; Restitution: $8,000; Probation: 120 months.
See last week's CrimeBox here, "Coal mining company, Environmental Manager and Plant Manager catch $7 million in fines and fees for blackening 22 miles of sensitive aquatic habitat in Ohio".
CrimeBox briefs are compiled from EPA Criminal Enforcement records.
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