POCATELLO – Max Spatig, 71, of Rexburg, Idaho, the owner of MS Enterprises, pleaded not guilty in federal court today to charges that he knowingly stored and disposed of hazardous waste on his property, a violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Spatig was charged in a one count indictment filed in United States District Court in Pocatello on December 11, 2012.

According to the indictment, on July 8, 2010, a total of 3,478 containers of waste materials were found on Spatig’s property in Rexburg. The indictment alleges that samples taken from the containers showed the contents were hazardous waste due to ignitability and corrosivity characteristics. According to the indictment, the contents of the containers were shipped to a hazardous waste disposal facility, incurring a cost to the federal government of $498,652. Neither MS Enterprises nor Spatig had a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the storage, treatment or disposal of hazardous waste.

A trial is set for March 4, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division and the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.