Tribar Technologies, Inc. Sentenced For Violation Of The Clean Water Act

DETROIT – Tribar Technologies, Inc., a Southeast Michigan manufacturer, was sentenced today to pay a $200,000 criminal fine, pay $20,000 in restitution, serve five years of probation, and implement an environmental management system and compliance plan within the first six months of probation. Tribar pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act when it discharged insufficiently treated wastewater, a misdemeanor, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced.

According to court documents, Tribar is a manufacturer of decorative trim assemblies and components serving the automotive and commercial vehicle markets in Southeast Michigan. The Tribar facility where the events in this case occurred – Plant 5 – is a chrome plating facility in Wixom, Michigan, that uses an electroplating process to apply chrome finishing to plastic automotive parts. The summer of 2022, Tribar held an Industrial Pretreatment Program Permit, authorizing discharges of treated wastewater from Plant 5 into the Wixom sanitary sewer system. Tribar’s permit included a notification requirement for batch discharges and prohibited Tribar from bypassing its own treatment system.

On July 23, 2022, Tribar Plant 5 accumulated approximately 15,000 gallons of untreated wastewater with high concentrations of hexavalent chromium. Tribar employees attempted to treat this wastewater, but by July 29, 2022, it still contained high levels of hexavalent chromium that required treatment before it could be released into Tribar’s wastewater treatment system. On the evening of July 29, 2022, a Tribar employee discharged a batch of approximately 10,000 gallons of insufficiently treated wastewater from a holding tank into Plant 5’s wastewater treatment system. The discharge activated approximately 460 alarm bells all of which were disabled, allowing the wastewater to be discharged into the Wixom sanitary sewer system. Tribar did not report this illegal discharge until August 1, 2022. 

“Tribar’s failure to adequately train and supervise its employees jeopardized the safety and quality of local water resources. This sentence recognizes the importance of strict adherence to regulatory standards and best practices intended to protect human health and the environment. Together with our partners we will continue to protect environmental resources in the Eastern District of Michigan,” said Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck.

“Tribar illegally discharged industrial wastewater, posing a risk to downstream waterways,” said Special Agent in Charge Allison Landsman of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. “The successful and cooperative effort by EPA, federal and state partners resulted in today’s sentencing, holding Tribar responsible for violating federal environmental law.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service.