19 August, 2004 LAWFUEL – The Net’s best legal news, law news, law firm news site Marcos Daniel Jiménez, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Ricky Langlois, Special Agent in Charge, Environmental Protection Agency; Robert E. Harris, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service; and James Duck, Special Agent in Charge, United States Army, Criminal Investigation Division, Florida Resident Office, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment returned by a federal grand jury sitting in Key West, Florida, charging defendant, Jeffrey A. Balch, with violating the Clean Water Act.
Specifically, the Indictment charges that Balch from in or about February, 2002 to in or about March, 2002, knowingly discharged, and caused to be discharged, pollutants into Florida Bay, a water of the United States, without a permit issued pursuant to the Clean Water Act, in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Sections 1311(a) and 1319(c)(2)(A), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. The Indictment also charges that Balch’s offense resulted in an ongoing, continuous, and repetitive discharge into the environment.
If convicted of the Clean Water Act charge, Balch faces a maximum statutory sentence of three (3) years’ in prison and a fine of up to at least $250,000.
Mr. Jiménez commended the investigative efforts of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, and the United States Army, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney José A. Bonau.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls
