All News Releases By Date

Clean Water Violations Committed by South Carolina Company and Goldman

Release Date: 02/14/2003
Contact Information:

Teresa Libera 202-564-7873/libera.teresa@epa.gov

(02/14/03) James Goldman of Lexington, S.C., and Tin Products, a company in the business of manufacturing tin-based compounds for use in the manufacture of plastics, each pled guilty on Jan. 27 to violating the Clean Water Act. In February 2000, a Tin Products facility had a chemical spill that entered Red Bank Creek, a tributary of the Congaree River. The spill resulted in hundreds of dead fish, a municipal sewage treatment plant closing and the switch to an alternate drinking water supply for City of Cayce residents. Clean-up of the site cost over $1 million and approximately $8 million was spent for the alternate drinking water supply. When sentenced in U.S. District Court for District of South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., Goldman faces a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. Tin Products faces a maximum fine of up to $500,000 when sentenced. The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division Atlanta Area Office and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Protection. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia, SC, and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.