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MISSOURI METAL FINISHING COMPANY SENTENCED IN WATER CASE

Release Date: 02/24/2000
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FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, FEB. 24, 2000

MISSOURI METAL FINISHING COMPANY SENTENCED IN WATER CASE


Heartland Metal Finishing Inc., of Salem, Mo., was sentenced on Feb. 17, in U.S. District Court in St. Louis for violating the Clean Water Act. The defendant was ordered to pay a fine of $170,000, provide an additional $48,404 in restitution for disposal of sludge, develop an environmental compliance program and retain an independent environmental consultant to inspect and certify that Heartland=s facilities are in compliance with federal and state environmental laws and regulations. An employee discharged plating wastewater containing zinc into the city sewers without company knowledge over an extended period that ended in November 1998. The discharge of plating wastes into city sewers can cause damage to equipment at sewage treatment facilities and can destroy bacteria which are necessary to properly treat the sewage. The case was investigated by EPA=s Criminal Investigation Division with the assistance of EPA=s National Enforcement Investigations Center. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney=s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis.

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