Virginia Beach Pump Company Pleads Guilty to Clean Water Act Violations

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Virginia Beach company pleaded guilty today to violating the Clean Water Act.

According to court documents, Forrest Sewer Pump Service, Inc., a family owned and operated business headquartered in Virginia Beach, violated the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 2015 and 2016 by illegally discharging pollutants into unauthorized manholes and pump stations. The court records indicate Forrest Sewer has been a Virginia licensed wastewater hauler and provider of sewer pumping services and grease hauling for more than 20 years. Forrest Sewer maintained an industrial user wastewater discharge permit to discharge into the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD) sewage treatment system. However, the records indicate that Forrest Sewer discharged at the unauthorized locations to, among other things, avoid paying dumping fees to HRSD.

The knowing introduction of trucked pollutants into undesignated locations is specifically prohibited by the CWA pretreatment prohibitions and the local HRSD Industrial Wastewater Discharge Regulations.  Forrest Sewer was caught on video dumping the pollutants at an undesignated location in the Virginia Beach area.

Forrest Sewer faces a maximum sentence of five years of probation, as well as fine of up to $50,000 per day of violation for the Clean Water Act violations when sentenced on October 24. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jennifer Lynn, Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Criminal Investigation Division, Philadelphia Area Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky is prosecuting the case, with the assistance of EPA attorneys and Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Goldstein and David Lastra.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:19-cr-118.