Corporate greed may stand to be the number one reason for companies choosing to commit acts against the environment and not comply with standards that are in place to protect it.
The Guilty Company
Benedict Lupo of Poland, Ohio, is the owner of Hardrock Excavating LLC. The company pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act by discharging brine into a tributary of the Mahoning River in Ohio. The company provided desalination services to the oil and gas industries in Ohio and Pennsylvania, including the storage of brine and oil-based drilling mud used in hydro fracturing, or fracking (Byrd, 2014). One of the largest reserves of natural gas in the world is the Marcellus Shales that lies underneath Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Oho and, New York (Lawrence & Weber 2014).
Ben Lupo put his own business interests ahead of the health and safety of citizens, natural resources and wildlife. Lupo ordered the release of his company’s brine waste into the Mahoning River. The multiple dumpings of toxic brine saline took place between November 1, 2012 and January 31, 2013 (Byrd, 2014). There were approximately 58 mobile storage tanks at the facility and each holds approximately 20,000 gallons. Lupo directed an employee to empty the waste liquid stored at the facility into a nearby wastewater drain. The employee conducted this activity only after no one else was at the facility and only after dark. The employee emptied some of the waste liquid at the facility into the nearby storm water drain using a hose on numerous occasions over the next several months. The drain flowed into a tributary of the Mahoning River and ultimately into the Mahoning River. The waste liquid contained brine and drill cuttings. A sample of the discharge taken that night was black in color and a subsequent analysis showed the presence of several hazardous pollutants, including benzene and toluene (Byrd, 2014)
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Beeson following an investigation by the Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Youngstown Department of Public Works and the Youngstown Fire Department. The statutory maximum for violating the Clean Water Act is for individuals is three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $50,000 per day of violation or $250,000, whichever is larger. This case is being prosecuted by the Ohio EPA, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, U.S. EPA, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Youngstown Department of Public Works and the Youngstown Fire Department. (Byrd 2014)
Fracking?
As natural gas exploration continues, it must be done in a way that ensures the drilling byproducts are treated and disposed of safely and legally (Lawrence & Weber 2014). This case demonstrates that if companies and their owners skirt environmental laws, EPA will hold them accountable. The process of fracking or hydro-fracking, is the horizontal drilling coupled with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. This is a relatively new process of natural gas extraction. A well is drilled vertically to the desired depth, then turns ninety degrees and continues horizontally for several thousand feet into the shale believed to contain the trapped natural gas. A mix of water, sand, and various chemicals is pumped into the well at high pressure in order to create fissures and cracks in the shale through which the gas can escape. Natural gas escapes through the fissures and is drawn back up the well to the surface, where it is processed, refined, and shipped to market. Wastewater (also called "flow back water" or "produced water") returns to the surface after the fracking process is completed. This water is contained in steel tanks until it can be stored long-term by deep injection in oil and gas waste wells. Fracking is fundamentally different than traditional gas
What are our natural resources/agriculture venues in our community? How do we ensure that we use our resources in ways that promote a healthy environment, a strong economy and a vibrant community? There are many natural resources and agricultural venues in our community like at the Petaluma dump where engineers utilize the community’s trash’s excrements of methane gas. In addition to this, the Petaluma dump makes their own fertilizer, which they sell and use to grown an organic garden. To…
“recycle” used technology, but what exactly does this process entail? Since automated recycling processes are nearly impossible for specific and unique products, salvageable components must be picked out and processed manually, increasing labor and wage costs to domestic facilities. Therefore, these tasks are outsourced to countries with labors willing to do the dirty work. A little known fact about todays “e-waste” is that most of it gets sent to collections and dumps in Africa and Asia. Most…
everywhere and is committed by almost everyone. Dumas points out the fact that the pollution is not only harming the water and making what was beautiful now an eye sore, but also explaining how the animals are effected by the dumping of trash in the ocean. Majority of the trash in the ocean is plastic. In Dumas’ essay she displays in a list of facts that we “each” dump 185 pounds of plastic yearly (Dumas 3). The plastic is not only harmful due to how it can get tangled in the animals, but how the…
This poem is about someone driving out to a burning dump and comparing it to the world he has come from and the world that one was and is now outdated. Robert Gray warns the reader about the serious implications of change. This poem has quite a dark tone with the constant talk of shadows, smoke and the mention of the fires of hell, the devil and life after we are gone from this earth. "As in hell the devils might poke about through our souls, after scraps of appetite with which to stimulate themselves…
environmental regulations would be economically disastrous for a poor country. As a result, it is forced to choose between buying food and having a clean environment. Often, rich Western countries take advantage of the dilemma of Third World countries. They dump garbage and hazardous waste in developing countries. First World companies might also build plants, which emit considerable pollution, in Third World nations to avoid the regulations these companies would face at home. Some transnational corporations…
and chassis of a truck that was then sold to Keefer Motors. Keefer Motors sold the truck unchanged to the City of Albany. No discussion by ACME or Keefer Motors had taken place with the City as to what the city would do with the truck. Susan’s Truck Equipment was contracted by the city to add a dump bed and hoist and the truck was modified and redelivered to the City of Albany; the truck was accepted and put into immediate use. Sarah and Emma are city employees and Sarah was injured when Emma…
family. My mom and dad both remarried and my family basically quadrupled within a year of their divorce. One memorable part of being a new member of a family is sharing new things, and one of my favorites was sharing recipes. Cooking seemed to be just what I needed to keep my mind off the heartache that my parents were never getting back together: My absolute favorite recipe came from my step mom. It is something she always has ready for me to eat when I come over and something that I have come to love…
must possess at least a valid Class AB@ Commercial Driver=s License at all times, have documented experience with a private construction firm (documentation to be included with application) and have experience operating a one-ton truck, 5 and 10-ton dump truck, forklift, tractor, loader, skid loader, dumpster, tractor, all grass mowing equipment and jackhammer. SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR UTILITY OPERATOR 3 In addition to meeting the general requirements, persons eligible for this position must possess…
best practices for working with vulnerability scanners such as Qualys, Nessus, Rapid7 and the rest. I found that following these practices dramatically improved our company’s security posture, and helped all of us sleep a lot better at night. Here’s what we learned: 1. CVSS is great. But it’s only part of the picture. CVSS is table stakes these days when examining vulnerability scan results, but you need to be careful to not place too much reliance on CVSS when prioritizing your remediation tasks…
What cultural factors must U.S. sports franchises overcome to increase popularity abroad? Why? In order to increase popularity in other nations, United States sports franchises would need to overcome several cultural factors. It would be imperative to first understand the legal and cultural differences in the global business environment. Some of our most common understandings in terms of conduct in business and social environments are likely be perceived completely differently in another country…
