WASHINGTON – A business owner who was found guilty of multiple felony violations of the Clean Water Act last year was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison.
“This defendant illegally dumped more than two million gallons of waste and pollutants into the sewer system,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. “The company and its owner stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in public services and then embarked on an extended campaign of deceit to conceal the scheme. The crimes damaged the honest rate payers who dutifully paid for the services they used.”
Ray Caldwell, 60, and his company All-Out Sewer Drain Service were fined $250,000, and the company will be on probation for three years, officials said.
During the sentencing hearing Judge Benjamin Settle said, “You saw an opportunity to essentially deprive public entities of money they were entitled to receive…. It’s very important to communicate to the community that if you engage in fraud on local government, you will realize consequences.”
All-Out was engaged in pumping, hauling and disposing of septic tank waste, grease trap waste and industrial waste water, according to officials.
Federal, state and local authorities require that all trucked and hauled wastes of the type handled by All Out be discharged to approve treatment facilities.
It was All Out’s practice to transport the waste to its facility in Longview where it was minimally treated and stored in a 10,000 gallon storage tank.
While some of the tank contents were appropriately trucked to approved treatment facilities, a majority of the commingled waste was routinely dumped down an unauthorized sewer port located on the All Out facility.
The business’ surveillance video, which was seized by law enforcement, show Caldwell and his business partner, Randy Dingus, illegally dumping the waste very early in the morning, officials said.
When city officials in Longview threatened to expose the scheme, the defendants began submitting false documents under reporting the true volume of trucked and hauled waste, officials said.
Citizen complaints prompted law enforcement surveillance in 2012.
On August 17, 2012, EPA criminal agents executed a search warrant at the All Out facility and seized video footage from the company’s surveillance system.
The video footage showed 24 separate illegal dumping incidents over a six week period in July and August of 2012.
After receiving reports that Caldwell was still illegally dumping, EPA agents returned to the All Out in the early morning of December 18, 2012.
Agents saw Caldwell using large flexible hoses to dump waste from the storage tank directly to the sewer port. They arrested Caldwell, officials said.
Caldwell’s business partner, Dingus, 54, plead guilty to violating the Clean Water Act for his role in the illegal dumping scheme, said officials.
Dingus was sentenced in January to 30 days in prison, two months of home detention, one year of supervised release, 40 hours of community service, and a $15,000 fine, according to authorities.