Texas company owner indicted for illegal waste disposal
Two individuals including a company executive have been indicted for their
roles in a conspiracy to illegally transport and dispose of hazardous waste,
the Justice Department announced.
John Kessel, the president and owner of Texas Oil and Gathering,
Inc., and Edgar Pettijohn, the company’s operations manager, were arrested and
charged with illegally disposing of hazardous waste at facilities only approved
to take oil and gas production waste. Texas Oil and Gathering, Inc., a licensed
hazardous waste transporter and used oil handler, was also named in the indictment.
Kessel and Pettijohn were arraigned in U.S. District Court
in Houston, Texas. They are charged with 14 felony counts including conspiracy,
violating the Safe Drinking Water Act and violating the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act.
The Underground Injection Control provision of the Safe
Drinking Water Act prohibits the unauthorized use of injection wells to prevent
contamination of drinking water sources. The Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) defines five classes of injection wells according to the type of fluid
they inject. Class II injection wells reinsert fluids associated with oil
and natural gas production back into the ground. Most of the injected fluid
is saltwater or brine that is produced when oil and gas are extracted from
the earth. It is illegal to dispose of anything other than these fluids through
Class II injection wells during this process.
Kessel and Pettijohn allegedly conspired to purchase hazardous
waste from multiple generator facilities and process it at their Texas Oil
and Gathering facility. The pair then sold portions as a fuel additive, and
directed their employees to transport the remaining hazardous waste, disguised
with documents indicating the waste was from an oil production well, to “Disposal
Facility A,” which was not permitted by the EPA to accept, store or
dispose of hazardous material.
Once at Disposal Facility A, the hazardous waste was disposed
into Class II injection wells in violation of the law. In furtherance of
the conspiracy, Kessel and Pettijohn falsified bills of lading and trip tickets
which misrepresented the origin and type of waste they were transporting.
If convicted, Kessel and Pettijohn each face five years
in prison, and the individuals and the company each face substantial fines. |
