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PA HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATION IN ILLINOIS

Release Date: 02/04/97
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PA HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATION IN ILLINOIS

FOR RELEASE: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1997

ILLINOIS COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO HAZARDOUS WASTE VIOLATION

On Jan. 24, E-Z Trail Inc., of Arthur, Ill., a company which manufactures grain wagons and farm equipment, plead guilty in the
Federal District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Urbana to one felony count of unlawfully disposing of hazardous
waste and one felony count of making a false statement to a federal agency in connection with a loan guaranteed by the Small
Business Administration (SBA). EZ-Trail admitted to the unpermitted disposal of hazardous paints and solvents at the site of
their business and to falsely claiming that they did not know about the disposal to obtain a $1 million loan , most of which was
guaranteed by the SBA. E-Z Trail agreed to pay a fine of $100,000, be placed on probation for five years, reimburse the
Illinois EPA $97,112.21 for clean up costs at their facility, complete cleaning up the contamination on their premises at their
own cost, place a newspaper advertisement apologizing for the violations and implement an environmental compliance training
program. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the Office of Inspector General for the SBA, the
Illinois State Police and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency with assistance from EPA's National Enforcement
Investigations Center.