Texas Oil and Gathering Inc., its owner John Kessel, and its operations manager Edgar Pettijohn, plead guilty to conspiracy and violating the Safe Drinking Water Act for illegally dumping refinery wastes at an underground injection well.

“The defendants tried to make an illegal end run around our environmental laws in order to increase their bottom line. These guilty pleas serve as a reminder that senior company executives who decide to commit environmental crimes will be prosecuted–not just the company.” – Warren Amburn, Special Agent-in-Charge of EPA criminal enforcement office, Dallas

The case, heard in U.S. District Court in Houston, covers crimes that were committed from January 2000 to January 2003 at an injection well in Rosharon, Texas. Both the owner, John Kessel, and the operations manager, Edgar Pettijohn, face up to eight years in prison and fines up to $500,000.

The charges came about from the company’s fraudulent representation of the source of the wastewater going into the injection well. Texas Oil stated that the water came from an oil well being developed, but the wastewater actually came from the company’s reclamation process, which involves distilling various liquids from refineries and chemical plants. The accepted water for class II injection wells is primarily brine with some crude oil, but the reclamation water actually injected in this case contained other chemicals, such as higher concentrations of toluene and xylen.

“The Safe Water Drinking Act and the regulations overseeing oil and gas related injection wells are designed to ensure safe sources of drinking water. Violations of these laws will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” – John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.

The Alvin, TX, based company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 for the conspiracy count and $50,000 per day for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (disposing hazardous waste at an unpermitted facility). The sentencing hearing is set for September 15, 2009.