Summary of Criminal Prosecutions
FISCAL YEAR: 2013
1. PRINCIPAL DEFENDANT: Lobdell Percy Brown
Louisiana state court - 145688
Louisiana state court - 145688
2. DEFENDANT: Carr William Brown
Louisiana state court - 145688
Louisiana state court - 145688
The defendants caused the illegal discharge of wastes from the Little Chenier oil production facility located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. During an inspection, a pipe running through the containment levee was observed. There was evidence of chlorides and oil discharges into the surrounding marsh. Little Chenier is owned and operated by the T & F Oil Company. T & F Oil did not have a permit to discharge any waste and/or wastewaters from the faility and all exploration and production (E&P) wastes must be transported for disposal at a permitted disposal facility.
October 21, 2011
The defendants were each charged with violating state law - L.R.S. 302076.
CITATION: L.R.S. 302076
December 11, 2012
Lobdell Brown pled guilty to the charge and received a deferred sentence of 72 months probation, ordered to paid a criminal fine of $15,000, restitution of $50,000, and the cost of investigation by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality of $11,080.
April 16, 2013
Carr Brown pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 36 months probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 criminal fine.
Press Release
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality
April 16, 2013
Vidalia man pleads guilty to illegal discharges in state waters
BATON ROUGE – Today, Carr William Brown, 53, of Vidalia entered a plea of guilty as a result of the illegal discharges of pollutants into state waters in Cameron Parish. Brown is an employee of Mandeville-based T&F Oil Company. Brown, along with his brother, Lobdell Percy Brown, the owner of T & F Oil, were indicted on Oct. 21, 2011, by a Cameron Parish Grand Jury as a result of two willful and illegal discharges of oil and chlorides into the waters of the state, along with five additional spills that went unreported from sites located in the Little Chenier oilfield in Cameron Parish. Carr Brown dumped oilfield wastes from a production facility owned and operated by T&F Oil into Little Chenier. The waste contained oil and produced water. The discharges were in violation of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. Following the indictment, a warrant was issued for their arrest. For his part in the illegal discharges and unreported spills, Carr Brown was sentenced to 3 years of probation and a $5,000 criminal fine. The plea is a result of the investigation conducted by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Louisiana Environmental Crimes Task Force. “Anyone who makes the decision to blatantly pollute our environment will be met with severe legal consequences as a result of that decision,” said DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch. “DEQ’s strong relationship with its local, state and federal partners allows us far-reaching authority to investigate and aggressively prosecute any individual or business in the state who chooses to evade environmental laws.” The case was prosecuted by the Louisiana Attorney General’s office.
STATUTE:
- State (STATE)