Christopher Tranchina of Glassboro, N.J., a Service Manager for a Sewell sub-contractor, pleaded guilty on Feb. 26, 2009, in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey, to conspiring to defraud the United States. From approximately the Spring of 2001 until approximately June of 2005, Tranchina and other co-conspirators defrauded the EPA by paying approximately $138,000 in kickbacks to an employee of a prime contractor at the Federal Creosote Superfund site in Manville, N.J. In exchange for the kickbacks, Tranchina’s employer was awarded subcontracts at Federal Creosote. The kickbacks were included in the prices charged to the EPA, which partly funded the remediation of the site. Tranchina received approximately $23,000 of the kickbacks, in the form of a hot tub, an HVAC system, cash and checks.

Tranchina had pricing and bidding authority for all sub-contracts between his employer and the prime contractor at Federal Creosote during the charged period. As a result of the conspiracy and in return for Tranchina’s payment of kickbacks to the prime contractor, Tranchina’s employer received approximately $1.2 million in sub-contracts at Federal Creosote.

“Today’s sentencing should make clear that those who conspire to subvert the competitive bidding process will be held accountable,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement of the Department’s Antitrust Division.

The charge is the result of an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into bid rigging, bribery, fraud and tax-related offenses conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, the EPA Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. To date, a total of three companies and seven individuals have pleaded guilty. Bennett Environmental Inc. was sentenced in December 2008 to pay criminal fines and restitution totaling more than $2.66 million. The other individuals and companies are awaiting sentencing.

Today’s charge reflects the Department’s commitment to protecting U.S. taxpayers from procurement fraud through its creation of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force. The National Procurement Fraud Initiative, announced in October 2006, is designed to promote the early detection, prosecution and prevention of procurement fraud associated with the increase in contracting activity for national security and other government programs.

Anyone with information concerning bid-rigging, kickbacks or fraud relating to sub-contracts awarded at the Federal Creosote site should contact the New York Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 212-264-9308.

Frederick Landgraber pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey today to one count of conspiracy to defraud the EPA from approximately March 2002 until approximately June 2005 at the Federal Creosote site. As part of the conspiracy, Landgraber provided more than $30,000 in kickbacks to an employee of the prime contractor at the site in exchange for which that employee steered landscaping sub-contracts to Landgraber’s company. Landgraber and his co-conspirator subverted the competitive bidding process by submitting intentionally high cover bids on behalf of fictitious companies. In total, Landgraber’s company received approximately $1.5 million in sub-contracts at Federal Creosote.

The clean-up at the Federal Creosote site is partly funded by the EPA. Under an interagency agreement between the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, prime contractors oversaw the removal, treatment and disposal of contaminated soil, as well as other operations at the Federal Creosote site.

“The fictitious bids were created specifically to evade bidding requirements that are in place to ensure competition and protect taxpayer dollars in the government procurement process,” said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement of the Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to apprehend and prosecute those who commit these crimes.”

Today’s charge is the result of an ongoing antitrust investigation into bid rigging, bribery, fraud and tax-related offenses at New Jersey Superfund sites. In addition to Landgraber, five individuals and three companies have pleaded guilty in this investigation. Bennett Environmental Inc. (BEI) pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to defraud the EPA at the Federal Creosote site and was sentenced on Dec. 15, 2008, to pay a $1 million fine and $1.66 million in restitution. On the same day, Zul Tejpar, a former BEI executive, pleaded guilty to participating in the same fraud conspiracy as BEI. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 28, 2009.

In addition, on July 23, 2008, JMJ Environmental Inc. (JMJ), a Laurel Springs, N.J., wastewater treatment supply company, its owner John Drimak, Jr., and Norman Stoerr, a former contracts administrator at the Federal Creosote site pleaded guilty to bid rigging, fraud and tax charges related to Federal Creosote and the Diamond Alkali Superfund site, located in Newark, N.J. Sentencing for JMJ, Drimak and Stoerr is scheduled for Dec. 7, 2009.

On March 4, 2009, National Industrial Services LLC and co-owner Victor Boski pleaded guilty to participating in a separate kickback and fraud conspiracy at Federal Creosote and Diamond Alkali.

Finally, Christopher Tranchina, an employee of a Sewell, N.J., company that provided temporary electrical utilities, pleaded guilty to participating in a separate kickback and fraud conspiracy at Federal Creosote. Tranchina is scheduled to be sentenced on July 13, 2009.

The fraud conspiracy that Landgraber is charged with carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Today’s charges reflect the Department’s commitment to protecting U.S. taxpayers from procurement fraud through its creation of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force. The National Procurement Fraud Initiative, announced in October 2006, is designed to promote the early detection, prosecution and prevention of procurement fraud associated with the increase in contracting activity for national security and other government programs.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, the EPA Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. Anyone with information concerning bid rigging, kickbacks or fraud relating to sub-contracts awarded at the Federal Creosote or Diamond Alkali sites should contact the New York Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 212-264-9308.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., is part of an ongoing effort to ensure that imported non-road engines and equipment comply with the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards. The filing marks the first federal court action enforcing the Clean Air Act’s emissions standards for portable generators, water pumps and other “non-handheld equipment.”

The complaint alleges that the non-road engines imported and sold by Powertrain, Wood Sales and Tool Mart from September 2002 through at least May 2007 were not certified to meet applicable emission standards. The Clean Air Act prohibits any non-road engine from being imported and sold in the U.S. unless covered by a “certificate of conformity” indicating that the engine meets applicable emission standards. The complaint also alleges that the companies failed to provide buyers with the full emission-system warranty required by the Clean Air Act for all of the non-road engines that were sold, to install proper emission-compliance labels on many of the engines and to fully respond to EPA’s administrative information requests issued under the Clean Air Act.

The complaint, filed by the Department of Justice on behalf of the EPA, seeks civil penalties up to the maximum amount authorized by law, as well as actions by the companies to remedy the violations and to mitigate any excess pollutant emissions caused by the violations.

EPA estimates the engines have contributed to excess emissions of more than 150 tons of hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, and more than 5,000 tons of carbon monoxide.

Non-road engines emit carbon monoxide, as well as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides that contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone or smog. Exposure to even low levels of ozone can cause respiratory problems, and repeated exposure can aggravate pre-existing respiratory diseases.

In 1995, EPA established regulations to reduce emissions of hydrocarbons from small gasoline-powered non-road engines. To obtain a certificate of conformity for non-road engines from EPA, a manufacturer must submit an application that describes the non-road engine and its emission control system, and that demonstrates that the non-road engines will meet applicable federal emissions standards. After obtaining a certificate of conformity, applicants must also comply with specific labeling, warranty and other requirements to ensure that the non-road engines will meet emissions standards in use.

According to the settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Mich., Georgia-Pacific will design and construct a landfill cap at the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill portion of the Superfund site. The company has also agreed to pay $225,509 for EPA’s past response costs and will pay EPA’s future costs related to this portion of the site.

“This excellent settlement ensures that Georgia-Pacific will perform necessary cleanup work within the Kalamazoo River site,” said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement represents another step in the overall cleanup of this environmentally significant region of the country.”

“This settlement marks an important milestone in addressing the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill,” said EPA Region 5 Acting Regional Administrator Bharat Mathur.

The Allied Paper Inc.,/ Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund site consists of an 80-mile stretch of river, a three-mile segment of Portage Creek, a number of now-closed paper mill properties, and four landfills, including the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill, which has historically been addressed as a single unit.

Georgia-Pacific currently owns the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill portion of the Superfund site, which consists of two former disposal areas and adjacent impacted areas that include wetlands and woodlands. Under the terms of the agreement, Georgia-Pacific will consolidate PCB-contaminated material, design and install a permanent geotextile landfill cap across a 32-acre area, design and install a groundwater monitoring system and build long-term erosion control measures. Additionally, Georgia-Pacific will restore wetlands and shoreline habitat areas along the borders and next to the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill.

Landfill design work will begin immediately following a comment period and court approval. On-site construction work is expected to begin by 2011. Currently, to prevent erosion of PCB-contaminated material into the Kalamazoo River, the Willow Boulevard/A-Site Landfill is covered in part by a geotextile membrane and sand. In addition, a sheet-pile wall borders the A-Site portion of the landfill.

The consent decree, lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the department Web site.

According to the court documents, in 2006, Alaska Gold, an Alaskan corporation and its parent company, NovaGold, a Canadian corporation, applied for and received a permit for the construction of a mine near Nome. Construction began in October 2006.

Subsequently, from April 2007 until September 2008, Alaska Gold and NovaGold violated their permit on multiple occasions by discharging stormwater into Rock Creek, Lindblom Creek and Glacier Creek in violation of state water quality standards. The companies also failed to adequately prepare and update a storm water pollution prevention plan and failed to implement and maintain best management practices to control the discharges.

“Today’s settlement shows that the government will hold accountable any company that does not fully comply with stormwater requirements,” said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We expect all companies to take the necessary steps to control stormwater discharge from their operations.”

“Whether it’s in a far corner of Alaska or in a crowded urban area, stormwater rules protect our waterways from polluted runoff,” said Michelle Pirzadeh, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator in Seattle. “The construction at Rock Creek Mine resulted in virtually unchecked runoff of silt and sediment to important fish habitat. Companies taking on construction projects of this scale need to do so responsibly and in accordance with the law.”

As of fall 2008, the mine was in compliance. EPA will be monitoring the site for future violations beginning in spring 2009.

The stipulation of settlement and judgment, lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in Anchorage, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. A copy is available on the Department of Justice Web site.

Gauntt pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with a felony count of making a false statement. He admitted that on or about June 12, 2008, he submitted a monthly operating report containing false data for drinking water that is provided to residents of Fort Gibson as well as residents of Muskogee Rural Water Districts 4 and 7, Cherokee Water drinking water systems, and the water systems for Corral Creek Subdivision and Ozark Water Inc.

Under the federal Safe Water Drinking Act, which is administered and enforced by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Fort Gibson water treatment plant must provide drinking water that meets standards to ensure that the water is safe for human consumption. Two of the standards that must be met include turbidity and chlorine. If turbidity, the measure of clarity of drinking water, or chlorine levels are not within levels required by the Safe Drinking Water Act, there is a potential risk that the water could retain microorganisms that carry waterborne diseases.

Gauntt admitted that he recorded levels in the monthly operating report submitted to Oklahoma DEQ that indicated the turbidity and chlorine levels were in compliance with required standards when he knew in fact they were not. In August 2008, Fort Gibson had sent a notice concerning this to residents who receive their drinking water from the Fort Gibson water treatment plant. Fort Gibson did not receive any information that anyone experienced any ill effects from the drinking water during that time period.

“All citizens should be confident that they are receiving drinking water that is safe for consumption. Those who knowingly compromise the regulatory protections of the Safe Drinking Water Act will be prosecuted,” said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The prosecution in this case demonstrates that the government vigorously acts to ensure all of our citizens have good drinking water and the Safe Drinking Water Act’s requirements are being complied with.”

“Accurate information is essential for the federal government and the State of Oklahoma to assure good drinking water for the public,” said Warren Amburn, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in Dallas. “Individuals who submit false reports or bogus data undermine those efforts and they will be vigorously pursued.”

“Falsifying information about the safety of the drinking water supply is dangerous,” Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson said. “Ensuring an adequate supply of safe, clean water is an important public health issue. We will continue to work with our partners at all levels of government to protect the people of this state and the water they drink.”

As a result of the felony conviction, Gauntt could be sentenced up to five years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

The case was prosecuted by the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section and was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation and the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office.

If there are any questions from the public regarding the case, please contact the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section at (202) 305-0321.