Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
Information from Gold Coast:
“In Gold Coast’s 38 years of operation, we have always taken pride in our reputation as good stewards of the community and the environment. Although this charge is only a misdemeanor, we take all such charges very seriously.
Gold Coast hired Rebel High Velocity Sewer Services to legally dispose of the company’s wastewater. That business has been registered with the Mississippi Secretary of State’s Office for 48 years, has an A+ BBB rating, and has met all industry standards to handle this business. To our knowledge, every vendor Gold Coast hires follows their own stated process, and there was no reason to believe that Rebel High Velocity was improperly disposing of wastewater after leaving our facility. Thankfully, there was no environmental impact, no damage to infrastructure, and no person harmed from the unlawful actions of Rebel High Velocity.
It is important to point out that negligence in this case means Gold Coast hired a vendor to properly dispose of wastewater, and that vendor did not do the job they were hired to do.
At the end of the day, we hired an expert to protect the environment and surrounding communities. The mistake made here was to fully trust that Rebel High Velocity followed their stated process and lawfully did the job they were hired to do.”
Jackson, Miss. – The co-owner of Gold Coast Commodities, Inc., who serves as vice president of the Brandon-based fat and oil recycling business, pled guilty today for his part in illegally discharging industrial waste into the Jackson Sewer System, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge Charles Carfagno with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division’s Southeast Area Branch.
During court today, Robert David Douglas, 60, of Flowood, admitted authorizing payments on behalf of Gold Coast for the transportation and disposal of its industrial waste at a commercial entity in Jackson, which as a result of his negligence, caused the waste to be trucked and discharged to a facility which was not a legal discharge point designated by the Jackson Wastewater Treatment System to receive the waste.
Douglas will be sentenced on November 9, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Brandon Police Department, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, with cooperation from the City of Brandon and the City of Jackson municipal governments.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gaines Cleveland.
MageeNews.com is an online news source serving Simpson and surrounding counties as well as the State of Mississippi.