Jackson, miss. (WJTV) – A Jackson-based wastewater hauler pleaded guilty Wednesday to illegally discharging industrial waste into the Jackson sewer system.
Prosecutors said Partridge-Sibley Industrial Services, Inc. admitted to overseeing the transportation and disposal of industrial waste from Brandon-based Gold Coast Commodities, Inc. to the site of a commercial entity in Jackson.
Inadvertently, the waste was trucked to a facility that was not a legal discharge point designated by the Jackson Wastewater Treatment System to receive the waste.
The company pleaded guilty to US Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball in Thad Cochran US Court in Jackson. The company agreed to pay a statutory penalty of up to $200,000, which the court imposed on Wednesday. The company will also be subject to a one-year trial period.
“PSI’s negligent actions resulted in the discharge of millions of gallons of untreated industrial waste into the Jackson water system,” said Chuck Carfagno, EPA-CID Southeast Regional Division Director. “EPA and its enforcement partners will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who willfully violate our nation’s environmental laws.”
The case is being investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigations, the FBI, the Brandon Police Department and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in cooperation with the City of Brandon and the City of Jackson.