U.S. Attorney Kenneth A. Polite announced that WALTER OIL & GAS CORPORATION, a Texas corporation domiciled in Houston, Texas, was charged today in a one-count Bill of Information with a felony violation of failing to immediately notifying the proper agency of a hazardous waste spill under Title 33, United States Code, Section 1321(b)(5)(C), in connection with their oil and gas production activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to the Bill of Information, on or about March 31, 2014, in the navigable waters of the United States and within the Eastern District of Louisiana, WALTER OIL & GAS CORPORATION, an entity in charge of an offshore facility from which hazardous substances were discharged in a quantity which may be harmful into navigable waters of the United States, failed to immediately notify the appropriate agency of the United States government as soon as it had knowledge of the discharge.
U.S. Attorney Polite reiterated that the Bill of Information is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendants must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Polite praised the work of the Criminal Investigation Division of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA-CID") and the Criminal Investigation Division of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ-CID") in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon Maestri is in charge of the prosecution.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
