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PA LOUISIANA COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN WATER ACT CHARGES
Release Date: 08/28/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 1998
LOUISIANA COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO CLEAN WATER ACT CHARGES
Intracoastal Liquid Mud Inc. (ILM), pleaded guilty on Aug. 19, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, La., to violating the Clean Water Act by discharging waste into the Vermillion River without a permit. ILM is in the business of selling drilling muds used in oil exploration and provides barge and offshore supply boat-cleaning services. In its plea agreement, the company admitted that between 1992 and January 1998, its employees illegally discharged waste wash water into the Vermillion River without having a discharge permit as required by the Clean Water Act. The wash water contained contaminants such as oil-based drilling mud, calcium chloride, barite and cement, all of which can be harmful to aquatic life. When sentenced, ILM faces a maximum fine of up to $500,000 and a period of probation of up to five years. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, the Coast Guard Criminal Investigative Service and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
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