G and K Services were charged with one count of violating the CWA {33 U.S.C. 1319(c)(1)(A) - negligent violation}.

G and K Services were sentenced to pay a $450,000 federal fine.

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The United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of Iowa

CORPORATION FINED $450,000 FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT

DES MOINES, IOWA - G & K Services, Inc., a Minnetonka, Minnesota, based corporation, was fined $450,000 for negligently causing a discharge of wastewater from their Pleasant Hill, Iowa facility in violation the Clean Water Act (CWA), announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. G & K Services previously pleaded guilty to this offense. The $450,000 fine was imposed by United States Magistrate Judge Ross A. Walters. Judge Walters also specifically ordered that G&K comply with the requirements of its permit with the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) and the requirements of Ordinance No. 666 (industrial waste discharge) of the Municipal Code of Pleasant Hill, Iowa.

According to the written plea agreement, on multiple occasions from around October 2005, and continuing to August 16, 2008, the G&K facility, operating an industrial laundry facility located at 1325 Metro East Drive, Pleasant Hill, Iowa, violated a requirement in their facilities Pretreatment Permit, issued by the City of Des Moines, Iowa that limited the total of oil and grease discharged to not more than 400 mg/l. G&K facility’s wastewater discharges exceeded the oil and grease effluent concentration limit of their permit.

“The Clear Water Act directs the United States Environmental Protection Agency to make known and enforce regulations establishing pretreatment wastewater standards for the levels of pollutants that are introduced into a publicly owned wastewater treatment facility,” explained United States Attorney Klinefeldt. “The EPA can also delegate state and local entities the authority to administer their own pretreatment permit program, and these requirements are federally enforceable.”

Klinefeldt said that his office was “committed to vigorous enforcement of the nation’s environmental protection laws to ensure clean air, water and land for all Americans. As President Obama and Attorney General Holder have said, we owe nothing less to the next generation than the sound management of our environment and natural resources.” “Improper disposal of waste water endangers not only the environment but human health,” said Michael Burnett, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Enforcement program for the Kansas City region. “This investigation prevented untold gallons of oily waste from being dumped into the Des Moines public treatment works and, ultimately, the area's watershed. EPA is committed to making sure criminal violations of environmental laws are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

This investigation was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency--Criminal Investigation Division and the Des Moines Metropolitan Waste Reclamation Authority, and the case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa