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Yarn Company Agrees to Plead Guilty to Clean Water Act Charges
Release Date: 06/23/2004
Contact Information:
Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819/ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov
(06/23/04) Dutton Yarn company, L.P., a yarn processing facility in Lowell, Mass., agreed to plead guilty on June 10 to violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from the illicit discharge of pollutants into a local river. Under the terms of the agreement, Dutton Yarn is expected to plead guilty to a two-count information that charges the company with the negligent discharge of wastewater containing pollutants creating a bio-chemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand through an undergound pipe into the Meadowbrook River in Massachusetts. Upon entering a guilty plea, the defendant will pay a $300,000 fine and establish an environmental compliance program. Discharging wastewater with bio-chemical oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand into surface waters can harm fish and aquatic life. This type of discharge causes excessive amounts of oxygen to be consumed by bacteria, depriving other aquatic organisms of oxygen needed to support life. The case was investigated by the Boston Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston.
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