Smyrna Chemical Plant Manager Guilty Of Violating Clean Water Act

ATLANTA -- The manager of a Smyrna chemical plant has been found guilty of violating the Clean Water Act. Carlos Conde, a former manager at the Apollo Industries' plant, has been sentenced to 12 months’ probation and fined more than $2000 fine after pleading guilty to the charges earlier this year. Conde told his employees to wash carburetor fluid into a tributary of the Chattahoochee River.

On August 12, 2016, a batching tank at plant began leaking a carburetor cleaner containing naphalene, a toxic and hazardous chemical. The next morning, two workers discovered the spill and Conde, who arrived at the plant and told 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 then twice denied his role in interviews with a special agent of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The carburetor cleaner turned the water milky white and opaque and killed the wildlife in the creek, including fish and frogs.

Full coverage:

• Smyrna Plant Manager Indicted On Clean Water Act Violations
• 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."

“We must ensure that citizens can continue to enjoy the beautiful natural resources we have here in Georgia like the Chattahoochee,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “Protecting those resources, and the environment, is part of our mission. We take this responsibility seriously, and we will prosecute those who have no respect for the laws that preserve them for all to use and enjoy.”

“The defendant in this case intentionally contaminated a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, killing fish and damaging the environment,” said Special Agent in Charge Andy Castro of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. “This sentencing demonstrates that EPA and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting our natural resources and the communities that rely upon them.”