All News Releases By Date

PA CO. PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOL. OF THE CLEAN WATER AND RCRA

Release Date: 10/4/96
Contact Information:

PA CO. PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOL. OF THE CLEAN WATER AND RCRA

FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1996

COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER AND RESOURCE CONSERVATION AND RECOVERY ACTS

On Sept. 26, the Arizona Chemical Co. Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of International Paper Co., pleaded guilty and was fined $2.5 million and ordered to pay $1.5 million in restitution to the Pollution Emergency Fund of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) for felony violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Arizona Chemical operates chemical manufacturing plants in Gulfport and Picayune, Miss. The company admitted to two felony counts of violating the CWA at its Gulfport plant. The violations occurred as a result of manipulating the plant's wastewater treatment system on sampling days so that it could report more favorable results under the plant's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit. The company also admitted to one felony RCRA count involving the Picayune plant which had accumulated and stored a number of drums containing hazardous waste and had intentionally mischaracterized some of the drums as "cleaning oil" on inventory sheets. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and MDEQ.

R-141 # # #