Company And Two Men Sentenced For Clean Water Act Crimes

BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK – Mark Pullyblank, 54, of Caledonia, New York and William Clements, 54, of Victor, New York were sentenced yesterday for criminal violations of the Clean Water Act in federal court in Binghamton, New York, said United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Vernesa Jones-Allen, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in New York. Mark Pullyblank was sentenced to a 3 year term of probation, a $10,000 fine and 120 hours of community service. William Clements was sentenced to a 1year term of probation and a $2000 fine. Both men were employees of Crane-Hogan Structural Systems, Inc., Spencerport, New York, which also entered a corporate plea of guilty and was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of Five Hundred Thousand Dollars ($500,000) and was placed on a term of probation for 5 years. A condition of probation requires the company to develop, fund and implement a comprehensive Environmental Compliance Plan ("ECP") to prevent future violations.

As part of its guilty plea Crane-Hogan Structural Systems, Inc. admitted that in December 2008 and January 2009 during a hydro-demolition project at the Binghamton Governmental Center Parking Garage, in Binghamton, New York, it discharged concrete slurry into the Susquehanna River without a permit. Hydro-demolition results in the need to dispose of large quantities of waste concrete, concrete residue, and concrete slurry (concrete and water containing concrete sediments and/or high pH related thereto) William Clement was a project manager employed by Crane-Hogan Structural Systems, Inc. who supervised the negligent discharge of concrete slurry from hydro-demolition conducted within the Wilson Hospital Parking Garage, Johnson City, New York from May through July 2009, into a manhole that led to the Binghamton-Johnson City POTW.

Mark Pullyblank was a Project Manager employed by Crane-Hogan Structural Systems, Inc. who supervised the intentional discharge of concrete slurry from a hydro-demolition project at the Binghamton Governmental Center (BGC) Parking Garage, in Binghamton, New York in August and September 2009 into a BGC sub-basement sump that discharged to the storm sewer system and to the Susquehanna River.

"The illegal discharge of pollutants into the nation’s waters is a crime that has wide-ranging effects on the magnificent environment that is our shared legacy and violators will be held accountable under the law," said United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian.

"America’s communities deserve clean water, free from pollutants in illegal wastewater discharges," said Vernesa Jones-Allen, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in New York. "For months, the defendants discharged contaminated wastewater in violation of the Clean Water Act. Protecting communities means holding violators accountable, both for illegal discharges and for failure to report them. It is appropriate that the company will be required to develop, fund, and implement an environmental compliance plan to ensure this type of illegal action doesn’t happen again."

The criminal investigation was conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Criminal Investigation Division and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Bureau of Environmental Crimes Investigation.