Contact Us

Newsroom

All News Releases By Date

 

HOUSTON MAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL DISCHARGES FROM BARGES

Release Date: 11/09/2001
Contact Information:


FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2001

HOUSTON MAN CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL DISCHARGES FROM BARGES
Luke C. Hester 202-564-7818/hester.luke@epa.gov


Tony Ray Sansing of Houston, Texas was indicted on Oct.26 on charges of conspiracy and eight counts of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA). Sansing, who was the supervisor at Western Towing Company’s barge cleaning facility in Houston, was charged with conspiracy to violate the CWA, discharging inadequately processed waste water into the San Jacinto River, manipulating laboratory samples and making false representations in monitoring reports to the state agency. If convicted, Sansing faces maximum penalties of up to five years imprisonment on the conspiracy charge, up to three years imprisonment on the illegal discharge count, and up to two years imprisonment on each of the sample manipulation and false reporting charges. He also faces a maximum fine of up to $250,000 on each count. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the Texas Natural Resources Conservation Commission, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the Houston Police Department’s Environmental Investigations Unit. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law.

R-224 # # #