(CBS-DETROIT) – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has charged the president of Lockhart Chemical Company in connection with a June 2022 Flint River oil spill.
Rajinder Singh Minhas, 60, of Rochester, was president, treasurer and director of Lockhart. He is accused of “mismanagement and neglect of critical maintenance and upgrades” at Lockhart, which led to the spill of oil into the Flint River.
On June 15, 2022, more than 15,000 gallons of an oil-chemical mixture was released from Lockhart’s Flint facility and entered the Flint River.
According to officials, in September 2022, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy ordered Lockhart to “stop using defective wastewater and stormwater conveyance systems, to pump the facility’s wastewater and stormwater for disposal offsite, to to sustain and monitor a boom in production.” the Flint River where the illegal discharge entered the river, and to repair or replace the failed transportation systems. The chemical company has now filed for bankruptcy.
Minhas is charged with falsely altering public records, a fourteen-year felony; uttering and publishing a false or altered public report, a 14-year felony; substantial endangerment to the public, a five-year felony; discharge of noxious substances into state waters, a two-year misdemeanor; false statements and omissions relating to air pollution control, a one-year misdemeanor; and general violations of the Air Pollution Control Act, which are punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 for each day a violation occurs.
Nessel also charges Minhas with 11 felonies for violating hazardous waste laws, permits or regulations. If convicted, Minhas would have to pay all costs associated with correcting the violations, and he faces up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $25,000.
“Those who operate a business have a responsibility to ensure that their activities do not endanger public health or the environment, and especially our precious water resources,” Nessel said. “Clear neglect and disregard of this responsibility cannot be tolerated, and I will continue to ensure that those who fail to meet this duty are faced with the full force of the law.”
In addition, Minhas is also charged with nine violations of the Michigan Liquid Industrial Waste Act for allegedly discharging industrial byproducts, violating post-discharge reporting requirements, and violating other provisions related to the proper labeling of chemical containers, the maintenance of adequate records and the storage, disposal, protection and discharge prevention of liquid industrial waste. According to officials, each charge is punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine of $1,000 to $2,500 for each day an offense occurred.
“Water is a defining feature of Michigan, an integral part of public health and a clean environment,” said Phil Roos, director of EGLE. “We should have little tolerance for those who violate the laws designed to protect them. Thank you to Attorney General Nessel and Sheriff Swanson for holding polluters accountable.”
Minhas is due back in court on January 2.
