Luke Hester 202-564-7818 / hester.luke@epa.gov
Ronald Snook of Coal City, Ill., former Environmental Manager at
Premcor's Blue Island Refinery, near Chicago, was convicted of conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act (CWA) and concealment of information from the
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). Snook conspired with Premcor; Elva Carusiello, Premcor's former Environmental Engineer and Assistant Environmental Manager at Blue Island; and Environmental Monitoring and Technologies Inc. (EMT), of Morton Grove, Ill., a consultant to Premcor, to not report violations of the Blue Island Refinery's CWA discharge permit.
The permit limited the pH of the refinery's wastewater discharges and also limited the amount of fats, oils and grease that the refinery could release into sewers operated by the MWRD. The scheme involved failing to report tests that indicated the refinery was out of compliance with its discharge permit. The discharge of wastewater with higher than permitted levels of pollutants and a high or low pH value, can harm sewage treatment equipment and also harm fish and wildlife.
In previous court actions in this case, Premcor paid a $2 million fine, EMT paid a $50,000 fine and Carusiello pleaded guilty to a CWA violation. When sentenced, Snook faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a $250,000 fine on each count. The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation Division with the assistance of EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago.
