NEW JERSEY, FEB 13, 2019 -- This month, an Elizabeth, New Jersey, biodiesel fuel company was sentenced for discharging more than 45,000 gallons of wastewater from its commercial biodiesel fuel production facility into the Arthur Kill, a waterway separating New Jersey from Staten Island, New York, announced the Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The company had pleaded guilty in June 2018 to one count of violating the Clean Water Act.
Fuel Bio One LLC was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William J. Martini to pay a criminal fine of $100,000. The company was also sentenced to probation for a period of five years, during which the company must (1) provide biannual reports to the court and the government documenting its waste generation, handling, and disposal practices; (2) develop, implement, and fund an employee training program to ensure that all employees are aware of proper waste handling and disposal practices and to ensure that all storage, treatment, and disposal of wastewater complies with the Clean Water Act; and (3) allow the EPA full access to all offices, warehouses, and facilities owned or operated by the company.
"Staten Island Sound (also known as the Arthur Kill) is a vital waterway running between New Jersey and Staten Island. Once heavily polluted and nearly devoid of marine life, this waterbody is making a comeback and again provides habitat to many species of fish and wildlife," said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Illegal dumping of pollution into the Sound not only violates federal law, but also threatens the environmental recovery of this historic marine channel, which is important to New Yorkers and New Jerseyans alike. The Justice Department will continue to work closely with EPA Criminal Investigation Division to prosecute illegal actions like those in this case."
