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Lupo Enters Guilty Plea in Brine-Dumping Case
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Benedict W. Lupo, former owner of D&L Energy, is scheduled to be sentenced June 16 after pleading guilty today to violating the Clean Water Act by discharging brine into a tributary of the Mahoning River.
“We are pleased the defendant admitted to his actions, which caused great harm to the Mahoning River,” Steven M. Dettelbach, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said “We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute cases in which people pollute Ohio’s waterways.”
“Ben Lupo put his own business interests ahead of the health and safety of our citizens, natural resources and wildlife by repeatedly releasing or ordering the release of his company’s brine waste into the Mahoning River. He will now be held accountable for this terrible crime,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.
The statutory maximum for violating the Clean Water Act is for individuals is three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $50,000 per day of violation or $250,000, whichever is larger.
A year ago, Lupo had entered a not-guilty plea in the case.
According to the indictment and related court documents, Lupo, 63, of Poland, directed an employee of his Hardrock Excavating LLC to empty some of the waste liquid stored at the company’s facility at 2761 Salt Springs Road into a nearby wastewater drain beginning on or about Nov. 1, 2012. The employee, Michael Guseman, 35, of Cortland, was directed to conduct the activity only after no one else was at the facility or after dark. The drain flowed into a tributary of the Mahoning River and ultimately into the river itself.
Hardrock provided services to the oil and gas industry in Oho including the storage of brine and oil-based drilling mud used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Guesman previously pleaded guilty to his role in the crime and was sentenced last week to three years of probation and 300 hours of community service. The criminal case against Hardrock Excavating LLC remains pending.
“As natural gas exploration continues, it must be done in a way that ensures the drilling byproducts are treated and disposed of safely and legally,” said Randall Ashe, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in Ohio. “This case demonstrates that if companies and their owners skirt environmental laws, EPA will hold them accountable.”
“This incident is one of a small percentage of egregious environmental violations we see at Ohio EPA that must be prosecuted criminally,” Ohio EPA Director Craig Butler said. “This general disregard for the law will not be tolerated in Ohio and we will work with our partners at the local, state and federal agencies to make sure the responsible parties are held accountable. We especially appreciate the United States Department of Justice quickly assisting Ohio in this case and applying its more stringent laws regarding Clean Water Act violations. ”
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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