AUSTIN, Texas — The CEO of a recycling company has pleaded guilty to unauthorized discharge for allowing his company to release industrial wastewater into Skull Creek, which feeds into the Colorado River.
According to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, Inland Recycling CEO David Polston pleaded guilty on Wednesday, May 1, to intentional or knowing unauthorized discharge.
In April 2019, Polston allowed his oil and gas recycling facility on State Highway 71 in Colorado County, near Houston, to discharge wastewater without the required permits or an order by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
The crime occurred in Colorado County, but the location for a prosecution of an alleged violation under the Texas Water Code allows the case to be prosecuted in Travis County, District Attorney José Garza said.
A Travis County grand jury returned an indictment against Inland Recycling on Dec. 8, 2021 for the violation, a third-degree felony.
As part of the guilty plea, the judge fined the company $75,000. In agreement with TCEQ and Colorado County, 75% of the fine ($56,250) will be tendered to Colorado County, while the remainder ($18,750) will go to TCEQ.
“Our office is grateful for the hard work and dedication of our staff and partners who worked together to hold the defendant accountable,” Garza said. “In this case, various levels of government agencies collaborated to protect the environment.”
The guilty plea comes after TCEQ received complaints in February 2019 of an oillike sheen, gasoline odor and dead fish in Skull Creek. TCEQ and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department launched an investigation, which determined the Inland Recycling facility posed a severe health risk. Samples taken in April 2019 indicated that the pollutant levels grossly exceeded levels established by state law.