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FLORIDA COMPANY CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL HAZARDOUS WASTE STORAGE

Release Date: 09/10/99
Contact Information:

United States Communications, Education,
Environmental Protection And Media Relations
Agency (1703)


Press Advisory
Following are some Agency developments which may interest you. If you need
more information on any of these subjects, call the appropriate contact.

FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1999

FLORIDA COMPANY CHARGED WITH ILLEGAL
HAZARDOUS WASTE STORAGE


EnviroTech, Southeast Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla., industrial wastewater treatment company, was charged on Aug. 31, in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville with storing hazardous wastes in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. EnviroTech had an industrial wastewater pretreatment permit issued by the city of Jacksonville to accept and process nonhazardous wastewater and release it into the city sewer system. The defendant did not have a permit to accept, store, treat or dispose of hazardous waste. The charges allege that EnviroTech stored hazardous wastes in unmarked tanks at its Jacksonville facility between May 1994 and November 1995. The wastes allegedly contained hazardous levels of lead, benzene, tricholorethylene and tetrachloroethylene. Exposure to lead compounds is a cause of neurological disorders in people and benzene exposure can cause cancer. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible fine of up to $500,000 and/or up to five years of probation. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, and the Florida State’s Attorney’s Office. Technical assistance was provided by EPA and Jacksonville sheriff office and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.


R-104 ###