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FORMER MERCHANT SEAMAN SENTENCED

Release Date: 04/13/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 2000

FORMER MERCHANT SEAMAN SENTENCED

Donald Dale Lamb, a former merchant marine tankerman for Reinauer Transportation Companies based in New York, was sentenced to serve one year in prison, three years probation and pay a $2,000 fine on March 29. The defendant previously pleaded guilty to negligently violating the Clean Water Act. In his plea, Lamb admitted that on May 15, 1997, instead of remaining topside to supervise loading, he went below decks on the barge RTC 320 while it was taking on a load of #2 fuel oil. As a result, 49,000 gallons of fuel oil spilled into the Arthur Kill waterway near Carteret, N.J. Spilling large quantities of fuel oil into aquatic environments can cause significant damage to wildlife, fish and other aquatic organisms. The case was investigated by EPA=s Criminal Investigation Division, U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office Environmental Crimes Section. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Newark.

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