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MISSISSIPPI COMPANY, EMPLOYEES CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY
Release Date: 08/31/2001
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 31, 2001
MISSISSIPPI COMPANY, EMPLOYEES CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov
Truck Trailer and Equipment, Inc., of Pearl, Miss., the company owner and president, James W. Fielder, a manager, Edgar A. Fielder, and another employee, Carlos A. Lindsey, were indicted on Aug. 23 for conspiring to violate two federal laws, the Clean Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. In addition, the company and James Fielder are each charged with four additional counts of dumping. The indictment alleges that spent solvents and other wastes were dumped from truck cleaning activities into a wetland and a Pearl River tributary bordering its facility. It is further alleged that when ordered by public safety officials to stop the dumping, the defendants arranged to dump the caustic wastes into an outlying area in Rankin County. The dumping of caustic wastes into wetlands can have significant detrimental effects on fish and wildlife. If convicted, each individual defendant faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine on each conviction. The company faces a maximum fine of up to $500,000 on each count, if convicted. The investigation was conducted by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and Pearl, Miss. city officials. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Jackson, Miss. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.
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