The Clean Water Act prohibits discharges into a sewer system of any pollutants that the discharger knows could cause property damage. Bleach is a corrosive chemical that, in sufficient concentration, may damage metal and other materials used in the sewer system and is considered a pollutant under the Clean Water Act.
“Keeping our sewer systems and public treatment works in good condition is a key part of maintaining and improving the quality of our waterways,” said Eileen Sobek, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We take seriously our obligation to prosecute those whose conduct risks harm to these important systems.”
The $25,000 in community service payments will be divided equally between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the National Environmental Education Fund for use in projects to improve water quality in the Salem area. In addition to the criminal fine and community service payment, KIK (Virginia) has agreed to serve one year of probation, during which it will continue to develop and implement an environmental management system that it began developing during the investigation. It also will complete an environmental audit conducted by an independent auditor.
“Dumping bleach into the city’s sewer system risked causing damage to both its sewage treatment equipment and the environment,” said David Dillion, EPA’s Special Agent in Charge in Philadelphia. “It is appropriate that, in addition to the fine, the company will be required to institute a management system so that this never happens again.”
The investigation was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and members of the Blue Ridge Environmental Task Force, and was prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia.
-Source the Department of Justice
