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PA ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY CHARGED WITH FALSE REPORTING

Release Date: 10/03/97
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 1997
ENVIRONMENTAL LABORATORY CHARGED WITH FALSE REPORTING

On Sept. 26, the now-closed Hess Environmental Laboratories in East Stroudsburg, Pa., was charged with nine felony counts of violating federal environmental laws in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The charges allege that Hess billed customers more than $1.5 million for environmental tests that were either never performed or improperly performed between 1988 and February 1997. The customers included the Tobyhana Army Depot, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Carbon Products Operations Inc., the National Park Service and Dames and Moore. If convicted, Hess faces a maximum of up to $4.5 million in fines, the payment of $1.5 million in restitution and up to five years probation. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, EPA’s Office of Inspector General and the Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Army, with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center.


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