Monday, September 21, 2020

No Fines Despite Millions of Gallons of Illegal Wastewater Dumped into Jackon's Sewer System


MDEQ did not penalize any companies involved in the illegal discharge of millions of gallons of acidic wastewater into the Jackson sewer system in 2016 and 2017.  However, do not think for one second that anyone got away scot-free. The agency told the companies not to do it again in a cease and desist order  issued against Rebel High Velocity Sewer Services.  The 2017 order states:

An inspection by MDEQ staff on October 24, 2017, of the Respondent's facility located at 333 Wilmington Street, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi revealed the following violations:
Specifically, the Respondent released untreated or partially treated wastewater received from Gold Coast Commodities of 817 N. College Street, Brandon, Rankin County, Mississippi into the City of Jackson's publicly owned treatment works (POTW) which is likely to cause interference at the Savanna Street plant and result in pollution of a water of the state...

the Respondent received trucked wastewater generated at Gold Coast Commodities and disposed of these wastewaters into the City of Jackson's POTW via an unauthorized connection.
The federal government picked up the ball and initiated a criminal prosecution against Rebel and other defendants. A federal Bill of Information against Andrew Walker provides more information about what took place in 2016 and 2017:

21. Between in or around November 28 and December 28, 2016, defendant ANDREW WALKER trucked and hauled Company A's wastewater to JWTS's Savanna Street treatment plant and then to his facility, Rebel, where he discharged it into a JWTS sewer.

22. In or around early January 2017, defendant ANDREW WALKER agreed with Individual A-1 to dispose of Company A's industrial waste at Rebel and to arrange with Company B for its delivery to Rebel. For almost a year, through October 2017, Company B transported millions of gallons of Company A's industrial waste to Rebel where defendant ANDREW WALKER, with the consent and assistance of individuals A-1, A-2, A-3, B-1, B-2, and B-3 illegally caused it to be pumped into JWTS, the same publicly owned wastewater treatment system into which Company A had already been prohibited from discharging it....

b. On or about December 28, 2016, defendant ANDREW WALKER telephoned Individual A-1 and told him that Rebel had a permit allowing him to discharge into the JWTS sewer wastewater he had sent through his grease removal equipment called an ALAR processor. Defendant ANDREW WALKER told Individual A-I that he was not using the ALAR equipment to process Company A's waste but, he said, it could "provide cover" for both of them...

1. From January through October 2017, employees of Company A, as arranged and directed by Individuals A-1, A-2, and A-3, loaded approximately three million gallons of Company A's waste into Company B's tanker trucks for transportation to Rebel for disposal into the JWTS sewer system. Earlier post and copy of Bill.
  MDEQ ordered Rebel to immediately stop the "unauthorized discharge of wastewater in the city of Jackson's" sewer system on October 27, 2017.  MDEQ did not fine Rebel or any other companies for the violations.

 The city of Brandon sued Gold Coast for similar violations.





Kingfish note: How come Jackson let this one slide?




43 comments:

The Fix is In said...

There are some greasy palms, and not from the waste water.

Anonymous said...

Kingfish, letting it slide is why it happened. You see, that acid cleared space in the pipes and improved the flow the entire path it took to the treatment plant. It was a free draino flush!

Anonymous said...

Does Jackson run the MDEQ?

Anonymous said...

Weak, politically-oriented leadership at MDEQ.

Anonymous said...

just another day in tate reeves' mississippi...

Anonymous said...

As Gomer would say to Andy. Surprise, Surprise surprise.

Anonymous said...

But the DEQ will come and bitch at me (a small business owner) in my manufacturing plant and fine me if I don't have every single extension cord taped to the floor...makes sense.

Anonymous said...

3:31 you have a short memory. If you know how to, look up when Reeves was inaugurated.

Anonymous said...

It's almost like we have a two tier justice system in this country.

Anonymous said...

@3:43
I am going to guess that you just wanted to complain because if DEQ did visit and you had been cited you would know they have nothing to do with extension chords. OSHA maybe, but not DEQ. So why don't you try again.

Anonymous said...

MDEQ will fine a developer $5000 if ten feet of silt fence isn't properly in place, even if it hasn't rained and zero silt escaped the site. All because a homeowner 1000 feet away didn't like the fact that a developer cleared trees on property that said developer owns and paid for. MDEQ is a friggin' racket. Absolutely zero consistency and rules applied differently for different people in different places.

Anonymous said...

3:43, if you don't know the difference between OSHA and EPA/DEQ, I really doubt you are grown up and a "bidnessman."

Anonymous said...

3:31 - not even a decent try. In fact, pretty damn poor. These violations occurred not during the Tate Reeves administration but were in fact during FeelBilly's term. Just because you don't like tater, try to at least focus on things that are relevant.

Anonymous said...

Although you shit-canned a majority of the posts (except one) I have told you a number of times that DEQ is the cause of this incompetency, lack of oversight and malfeasance. Put Shad on it and watch the feathers fly. Just one more in a long list of state agencies that are not serving the public interest.

Anonymous said...

I cry softly when I think about how hard it is for real estate developers with such a "tyrannical" GubMint around!

It's almost as bad for Whitewater Developers and the sort!

They were "barely getting by!"

Anonymous said...

Extension Cord? DEQ has nothing to do with industrial safety as relates to OSHA violations, and it's an OSHA violation for an electrical cord to be run across the floor whether taped or not. Entirely separate jurisdiction and focus.

Anonymous said...

I'm @4:56 and I want to clarify. That is with the developer having a proper SWPPP, having approval to clear trees, having all proper documentation, porta-john on site, blower on burn piles, aggregate entrance, concrete wash-out area, and everything MDEQ wants. But in Madison and Rankin Counties, said developer will get hammered for 10 feet of silt fence not trenched in properly.

Meanwhile in a place like Monroe County a developer can build an entire 40 acre subdivision without even applying for an LCNOI with a SWPPP, and nothing happens. No punishment or anything.

Different rules for different folks.

Anonymous said...

Oh, the MEDQ gave them a good tongue lashing huh? Isn't that cute.

Anonymous said...

No state agency is going to do jack to anybody or anything in Rankin county.

Anonymous said...

I understand he made a pinky finger promise it wouldn't happen again.

Anonymous said...

Before you make a comment, you might want to READ the entire post. While some are quick to point out MDEQ didn’t do anything, READ the part that states the Feds picked up the ball and initiated a Criminal Action. MDEQ does not have a CID; when it reaches that point it’s turned over to the Feds for Prosecution. Or maybe you’d prefer a Double Jeopardy situation where both Feds & State prosecute for the same thing? I also notice more than a few are Quite Sure there’s some payola; unless you can Prove it you’re pretty much nothing more than Slandering a Mans Name with a baseless opinion. Probably a Fine Front Row Baptist who seems to have an Idle Tongue with Malicious Words.

Anonymous said...

@5:47 pm: if the MDEQ does not enforce EPA stormwater pollution prevention laws, the usepa will take over the program.

Contractors are required to install and maintain silt fence and other BMPs weekly and/or after rain events. It’s not that difficult. Be thankful you aren’t in Arkansas where their DEQ actually enforces their laws

Don’t want to get hammered? Do the work properly the first time.

Sign me,
Swppp contractor

Anonymous said...

Attn 3:10 AM. What are you doing on this Site at 3:10 A.M.?

Anonymous said...

Maybe MDEQ referred the case to EPA Criminal Enforcement. Then because of concerns about messing up the criminal investigations and issues of double jeopardy let the criminal investigation take the lead rather than pursuing a civil enforcement action. There are still a lot of things going on with this case so don't think its all done yet.

Kingfish said...

It's been three years since the order was issued. Theyve had plenty of time to fine. It's the old thinking of we would rather solve the problem than punish the violator.

Anonymous said...

When is the EPA going to sue Jackson?

Anonymous said...

@6:29 I agree with you. The problem is that it is not enforced equitably. There is so much politics that goes into enforcement.

Anonymous said...

9:27 am They aren't going to " sue Jackson". Jackson is the victim, not the culprit.

And, culprits probably weren't fined because the money would have gone to help Jackson repair the damage. And, folks like you have made politicians afraid to do anything that might benefit Jackson.

Anonymous said...

To my knowledge, a prosecution under state law and another prosecution under different federal laws do not implicate the double jeopardy clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Anonymous said...

Wait until it’s discovered how the MDEQ allows rampant groundwaterpollution from leaking underground storage tanks.

The total groundwater clean up level for benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, and total xylene is 18 parts per million. The EPA Maximum Contaminant Level for Benzene is 0.005 ppm.


Have the same fuel leak from an above ground storage tank and see how many more millions you pay to clean up the groundwater. Throw in how the MDEQ looks the other way (like for Chaney Oil) or allowing owners that didn’t do the required compliance into the groundwater protection trust fund and you see how it pays to have friends on the inside.

Anonymous said...

Yes, that’s Correct 11:37, however MDEQ is a Sub Branch Of EPA.

Anonymous said...

The DEQ and/or EPA needs to look at all the storm water and silt being pumped into a tiny creek from the nursing home development at the corner of Hwy 25(Lakeland Dr) and Cooper Rd. All the muddy water from that development is being sent to the low end of the property then they use a re-lift pump to pump it into the creek. Something doesn't look right to me.

Anonymous said...

"Yes, that’s Correct 11:37, however MDEQ is a Sub Branch Of EPA."

Bullshit! EPA is a federal agency. DEQ is a state agency. No state agency is a 'sub-branch' of a federal agency. How do you even GET to be this ignorant?

Anonymous said...

3:43. you must have a really really small bidness, because you don't have to deal with any of the regulatory agencies.

The DEQ (Environmental Quality) has no interest at all, and no regulatory authority, over your extension cords - be they the right size for what they are carrying or whether they are taped to the floor.

That agency would be OSHA - Occupational Health and SAFETY Administration. But of course you would know that if or when you had ever been visited by either one or both of them. Which clearly you haven't.

So why don't you get back to whatever it is you do for some gubmental agency that provides you with a computer and plenty of time on your hands. Get off the computer and use your hands just to jerk yourself off and quit trying to jerk off others with your stupid comments.

Anonymous said...

KF, your theory that its been three years and they had plenty of time to fine these crooks isn't how the process works. You might not like the process, but there is much more to it than writing a blog post about it. You have no idea how long the criminal investigation has been going on but obviously it was before Rebel was involved. How do I know that? By reading the DEQ investigator's report on his visit to Rebel and as soon as he left (before he went back to his office and reported to the higher ups) he called the FBI and DOJ to discuss.

Obviously they are going after criminal indictments in this case. And that trumps civil penalties which can always be brought later - after the perps are sentenced in the federal courts.

These cases others cite about getting fined right away are when they broke some serious regulation, but it wasn't criminal and I'll bet they would rather have been fined right away and not had to answer to the fibbies or the DOJ attorneys.

Storm water violations -- the silt fences and crap that people are using as a cross example of a much smaller deal -- do draw early monetary penalties. But that don't bring down the US Attorney filing legal claims and telling state courts to have the discovery back off so they can continue prosecuting crooks.

And your "its been three years" argument skips over what you don't know -- how long has the feds been investigating and developing their case.

Anonymous said...

12:41 - Wrong.

MDEQ is not a 'sub-branch' of the Federal EPA. There is a working relationship; EPA has delegates some of its powers and authorities to DEQ; and they are working partners. But - DEQ is not a 'sub-branch' of anything but the Executive Office of the Governor.

Anonymous said...

Ok geniuses can’t you see that deq turned the polluter(s) over to EPA and FBI for criminal prosecution. That means potentially huge criminal penalties and people going to jail. Use your brains folks. What deq did is far more punitive that civil penalties.

Kingfish said...

Emailed and spoke to MDEQ. All the spokesman would say is the investigations are ongoing. That's it. Don't blame me if they won't tell me how the process works and leave us ignorant on how the basic facts works.

Someone called me today and told me how the process works. An update will come in the next few days. However, I think you guys are going to be surprised at how weak our laws are, even for the South.

Anonymous said...

and then there's this:

http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2020/05/breaking-down-dhs-audit.html

which mentions a certain member of the MDEQ Permit Board:

https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/permits/permit-board/

Anonymous said...

I don't think either the EPA or MCEQ/MDEQ have criminal law enforcement powers. I look forward to KF's update.

11:37 a.m.

Anonymous said...

EPA has a criminal investigative agent assigned to Mississippi and living in Mississippi.

Anonymous said...

I stand corrected. The EPA does have a criminal enforcement program.

https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/criminal-enforcement-overview

11:37/9:53

Anonymous said...

We all know this is how white america operate lock cosby up because coke heads from his past but a sorry ass old white man dumping millions of waste that will be eventually recycled and turned into drinking water and bath/shower water for you and your children face only 5 years if prosecuted.. Bullshit!!!!!! Im mad as fuck...... And they better fine the shit out of his company as well and put it towards our fucking water bills threw out the county and shut his fucking business down.. I bet his weak ass don't leave in hinds county....



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