CORPORATE CRIME REPORTER
McWane,
Execs Charged with Pollution Crimes
19 Corporate Crime Reporter 43(5), November 3, 2005
Pacific States – a manufacturer of cast iron pipe owned by McWane, Inc.
– and two managers were charged today with air pollution crimes.
The six-count indictment was filed in federal district court in Salt Lake City,
Utah.
It charges the owner of Pacific States, McWane, Inc., as well as Charles Matlock
who is both a Vice President of McWane, Inc. and General Manager of Pacific
States, and Charles "Barry" Robison, vice president of environmental
affairs for McWane, Inc., with conspiracy to violate federal clean air regulations
as well as the submission of false documents required by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
McWane, Inc., which operates a division called Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe
Company in Provo, Utah is among the largest manufacturers in the world of ductile
iron pipe with more than a dozen plants in the United States and Canada.
McWane's products are used primarily for municipal and commercial water and
sewer installations.
McWane, Inc. and the individual defendants were charged in connection with,
among other things, the following events alleged in the indictment:
* Operating the cupola furnace when it was known that the air pollution control
device was insufficient to remove pollutants to the extent required by law.
* Causing compliance tests to be rendered inaccurate by melting pig iron on
test days, rather than the normal feedstock of shredded scrap automobiles to
avoid the cost of upgrading pollution control equipment and taking other measures
that would have been necessary to reduce the emission of a dangerous air pollutant
from the Provo facility and comply with environmental regulations.
* Submitting to the State of Utah Emission Inventory Reports and other correspondence
that intentionally misrepresented the amount of the air pollutant PM10 emitted
by the facility. PM10 is particulate matter that settles very slowly and stays
suspended in the air. PM10 is particulate matter that can become deeply embedded
in human lung tissue and cause respiratory problems and exacerbate other cardiovascular
diseases. In addition to negative health effects, particulate matter reduces
visibility and speeds the deterioration of buildings.
McWane, Inc. has pled guilty in two districts and was convicted following trial
in a third.
McWane, Inc. is currently in trial in a fourth district.
* In March 2005, Tyler Pipe Company, a division of McWane, Inc. located in Tyler,
Texas, pleaded guilty to submitting a false statement and violating the Clean
Air Act. Tyler Pipe agreed to pay a criminal fine of $4.5 million and is subject
to a probation period of five years.
* In June 2005, in Birmingham, Alabama, McWane, Inc. and former Vice President
and General Manager of the McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company James Delk were convicted
of conspiracy to violate the Clean Water Act and of violating the Clean Water
Act by allowing discharges of industrial process wastewater into Avondale Creek
in Birmingham through storm drains in violation of their permit. Charles "Barry"
Robison, the vice president for environmental affairs at McWane, Inc., was also
convicted of submitting a false statement to the EPA. Sentencing for this case
is scheduled for December 5, 2005.
* In September 2005, Union Foundry Company, a division of McWane, Inc. an iron
foundry located in Anniston, Alabama, was sentenced to $4.25 million in criminal
fines and community service. The McWane, Inc. division pleaded guilty to a two-count
information charging illegal treatment of hazardous waste and worker safety
violations that resulted in the death of an employee.
* In December 2003, in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, Atlantic States, a subsidiary
of McWane, Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama, and several managers were charged with
conspiracy to violate federal clean air and water regulations and laws governing
workplace safety, as well as obstruction of criminal and regulatory investigations
by EPA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration. This case is currently
in the midst of a four month trial.
"McWane has repeatedly illustrated an indifference to the laws that protect our environment," said Kelly A. Johnson, head of the Justice Department's Environmental and Natural Resources Division. "This indictment is proof that companies that break our nation's environmental laws and show blatant disregard for telling the truth will be prosecuted and brought to justice."
"Environmental crime hurts all of us in Utah," said U.S. Attorney
Paul Warner. "You do not have to be an environmentalist to want clean air
and clean water for yourself and others. Those who pollute the environment for
commercial gain here in Utah will do so at their risk, as we will aggressively
pursue them and hold them personally responsible. With this prosecution today
we are sending the message that the cost of doing business for corporate polluters
in Utah just went up-way up."
Corporate
Crime Reporter
1209 National Press Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20045
202.737.1680