Smyrna Plant Manager Indicted On Clean Water Act Violations

ATLANTA -- The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the plant manager of Apollo Industries' Smyrna plant has been arraigned on federal charges of violating the Clean Water Act. Carlos Conde, 37, of Smyrna, is also charged with making false statements to a federal agent. Conde was indicted by a federal grand jury on September 25, 2018.

“Conde allegedly instructed workers to intentionally wash toxic and hazardous chemicals into the Chattahoochee River watershed,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak.

According to federal prosecutors, on August 12, 2016, a batching tank at the Apollo Industries chemical mixing facility began leaking a carburetor cleaner containing naphthalene, a toxic and hazardous chemical. The following morning, two workers discovered the spill and called Conde, the plant manager. Conde arrived at the plant and allegedly instructed the employees to wash the chemical away with water from multiple hoses. The chemical was washed into a tributary of Nickajack Creek and the Chattahoochee River.

Conde allegedly twice denied his role in the spill cleanup during interviews with a federal agent with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

See Also:

• Thousands of Gallons of Chemicals Spill Into Smyrna Creek
• Chemical Spill Into Smyrna Creek Caused by Faulty Gasket
• Company That Caused Chemical Spill Suspending Operations
• EPA Launches Criminal Investigation Into Smyrna Creek Chemical Spill

“It is important that we continue to remain vigilant to protect our precious waters throughout the southeast,” said Trey Glenn, regional administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. “EPA takes seriously any allegations of improper disposal of toxic and hazardous chemicals, which pose serious threats to public health and the environment.”

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Images Courtesy of Dana McPherson