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PA EPA, COAST GUARD FILE CASES
Release Date: 05/09/97
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1997
EPA, COAST GUARD FILE CASES
On April 22, in U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., Ocean Chemical Carriers Inc. (OCCI), a Texas based company, agreed to plead guilty to one count of discharging 60,000 gallons of oily waste into the sea and one count of failing to report that discharge. Both counts are in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships. The wastes were dumped in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean from the motor vessel Francis Hammer on April 7, 1993. If the plea agreement is accepted by the court, OCCI will pay a $50,000 fine, provide $200,000 in restitution, serve two years probation, implement a program to prevent future violations and issue a public apology.
Also on April 22 in Tampa, Universal Circuits Inc., a circuit board manufacturer located in Largo, Fla., was the subject of an eight-count indictment for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The indictment alleges that the company discharged waste water containing concentrations of copper in excess of Pinellas County and EPA standards into the Pinellas County South Cross Bayou Sewage Treatment Plant from July 1988 to July 1992. If convicted, Universal Circuits faces a maximum fine of $500,000 on each of the eight counts. In related actions, Henry J. Bedard of Newburgh, N.Y., who was the former manager of Universal Circuits Inc., pleaded guilty to tampering with a monitoring device in violation of the CWA. He could receive a maximum sentence of up to two years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $250,000. David W. Boldt of Hudson, Fla., a former Universal Circuits Employee, pleaded guilty on April 10, to tampering with a water monitoring device in violation of the CWA. When sentenced, Boldt could receive up to four years imprisonment and/or fines of up to $250,000.
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