MAN CONVICTED BY JURY OF VIOLATING THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT

Cory Ledeal King, 52, of Burley, Idaho, was convicted yesterday by a federal jury sitting in Pocatello, Idaho, on four counts of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act and one count of making false statements, the United States Attorney’s Office announced.

During the three-day trial, the jury heard evidence that in 2005, King, the farm manager and part owner of the Double C Farms/Lambert Produce cattle feedlot and farm facility located 12 miles south of Burley, Idaho, had ordered his workers to inject excess surface fluids from various sources into at least four deep agricultural irrigation wells at the Double C on numerous occasions without having the required Underground Injection Control permit from the State of Idaho Department of Water Resources. In addition, the jury heard evidence that King lied to a State of Idaho Department of Agriculture inspector, who was inspecting the facility. The jury returned its guilty verdicts early Thursday afternoon.

“The integrity of Idaho’s ground water is critical to everyone’s safety and health. Anyone involved in polluting ground water—the water we drink—in order to save some money by disposing of fluids into the aquifer without a permit is grossly irresponsible. Criminal punishment based on the jury’s verdict is clearly in order,” said Marc Haws, First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Idaho.

“Congress made it a felony to violate certain requirements of the underground injection control program of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) without a permit,” stated Mark Measer, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division. “Defendant King surreptitiously injected fluid in violation of the SDWA and then lied to authorities to conceal his actions.”

Sentencing is set for August 24, 2009, at the United States Courthouse in Pocatello, Idaho. King faces a maximum sentence of three years on the Safe Drinking Water counts and five years on the false statement count. A maximum fine of $250,000 may also be imposed on each count.

King’s case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigation Division, Idaho State Department of Agriculture, Idaho Department of Water Resources, Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office.