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PA RENDERING PLANT WASTEWATER TREATMENT OPERATOR SENTENCED
Release Date: 04/17/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 1998
RENDERING PLANT WASTEWATER TREATMENT OPERATOR SENTENCED
On April 7, Gary Keck, former wastewater treatment operator at Darling International’s Blue Earth rendering plant located in Blue Earth, Minn., was sentenced to six months in prison with work release by the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota in Minneapolis. The defendant must also serve two years of supervised release. Keck violated the Clean Water Act by discharging unpermitted levels of ammonia and other pollutants into the Blue Earth River. The rendering plant turns animal wastes such as fat, blood, feathers, meat and bone into useful products. Ammonia is a nutrient which can cause fish kills, algae blooms and other disturbances of aquatic life. Darling International has also pleaded guilty and has paid a $4 million fine. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
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