Williams didn’t notify the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality of his plan or obtain a permit, the state claimed in court documents. The last shipment was transported to Missouri 28 days before his deadline to remove the waste.

The warehouse, near the small town of Berger, Mo., and southeast of Hermann, sits near the point where Zero Road turns from pavement to gravel and runs through dusty farm fields. Overgrown with weeds, the building is across the road from Little Berger Creek, which empties into the Missouri River less than a mile away. A state water permit unrelated to the hazardous waste says that the building is in the floodplain.

Penny Duncan coordinated the shipments, and Daryl Duncan was aware that the waste was high in cadmium, the indictment says. It also says Missouri Green Materials and its facility did not have a permit to “treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste.”

Missouri Green Materials was formed Nov. 4, 2013, while the shipments were occurring, according to Secretary of State records.