Jackson, Miss. – An employee of Partridge-Sibley Industrial Services, Inc., a wastewater hauling business based in Jackson, Mississippi, pled guilty today for his part in illegally discharging industrial waste into the Jackson sewer system, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Charles Carfagno with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4.
During court today, William Roberts, 44, of Pearl, Mississippi, admitted supervising the transportation and disposal of industrial waste from Gold Coast Commodities, Inc., of Brandon, Mississippi, to a site at a commercial entity in Jackson, which, as a result of his negligence, caused the waste to be trucked and hauled to a facility that was not a legal discharge point designated by the Jackson Wastewater Treatment System to receive the waste.
Roberts entered his guilty plea before United States Magistrate Judge F. Keith Ball at the Thad Cochran United States Courthouse in Jackson. Roberts will be sentenced on December 14, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. The federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
“The defendant’s negligent conduct contributed to the discharge of millions of gallons of untreated industrial waste into the Jackson water system,” said Special Agent in Charge Chuck Carfagno, of EPA-CID Southeast Area Branch. “EPA and its law enforcement partners will vigorously investigate and prosecute those who deliberately violate our nations environmental laws.”
The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brandon Police Department, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, with cooperation from City of Brandon and City of Jackson municipal governments.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gaines Cleveland.