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PA WEST VIRGINIA WORKERS INDICTED FOR CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 10/30/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1998

WEST VIRGINIA WORKERS INDICTED FOR CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONS

Donald Hoffman, Rodney Hoffman and Curtis Hoffman, all of Prosperity, W.Va., Mabscott Plating Inc., and Hoffman Metal Finishing Inc., both of Mabscott, W.Va., were all charged on Oct. 21, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in Charleston with multiple violations of the Clean Water Act. As part of their metal finishing business, the defendants generated industrial waste water contaminated with heavy metals including copper, nickel and chromium. The charges allege that on four occasions between March 1997 and April 1998, the facility discharged contaminated waste water directly into the sewers that lead to the city of Beckley, W.Va., waste water treatment plant. If ingested in sufficient quantities, copper, nickel and chromium are toxic to people and wildlife. These metals can also damage sewage treatment equipment and destroy bacteria which are critical to proper sewage treatment. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

R-149 ###