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Former Employee of Virginia Concrete Company Pleaded Guilty to Clean Water Act Crime

Release Date: 12/5/2001
Contact Information: Donna Heron, 215-814-5113

Donna Heron, 215-814-5113

PHILADELPHIA – A Manassas, Va. man faces a maximum penalty of two years in jail after pleading guilty in federal court to charges that he lied on Clean Water Act reporting forms used to monitor the discharge of concrete manufacturing wastewater to the Anacostia River.

Joseph K. Davis, 49, was employed by Cardinal Concrete Corporation, a division of Florida Rock Industries, Inc., of Jacksonville, Fla., at the cement manufacturing and distribution plant that Cardinal operates jointly with CTI/D.C., Inc., located at 25 Potomac Ave. in Southeast Washington, D.C.

In his guilty plea, Davis admitted to falsifying sample results of wastewater discharge that occurred in August and September 2000.

Untreated wastewater from the concrete manufacturing process is highly corrosive and contains excessive levels of suspended solids, which can degrade aquatic habitat and harm or kill aquatic organisms. Because such discharges post an environmental threat, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a permit to the facility requiring that the wastewater be treated to certain levels, and that regular monitoring be conducted to ensure compliance.

Davis also faces a maximum fine of $250,000. No sentencing date has been set.