KIK (Virginia) LLC Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Pay Finefor Negligent Discharges to Sewer System

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “WASHINGTON — KIK (Virginia) LLC pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in the Western District of Virginia to a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act and agreed to pay a $75,000 criminal fine and $25,000 in community service payments for negligent discharges of bleach to the sanitary sewer system in Salem, Va. KIK (Virginia) operated a facility in Salem that manufactured bleach and other household products. On Sept. 4, 2003, local authorities discovered elevated concentrations of bleach in the sanitary sewer lines servicing the KIK (Virginia) facility. An investigation revealed that at that time and for a number of years before, under previous owners, employees at the plant washed bleach that had been spilled in the production and bottling process and off-specification bleach into the plant’s floor drains. The floor drains channeled the bleach into the plant’s drainage system, which lead to Salem’s sanitary sewer system, operated by the Western Virginia Water Authority. The plant did not have a permit to discharge bleach to the sewer system and did not monitor its discharges. The Clean Water Act prohibits discharges into a sewer system of any pollutants that the discharger knows could cause property damage. Bleach is a corrosive chemical that, in sufficient concentration, may damage metal and other materials used in the sewer system and is considered a pollutant under the Clean Water Act. "Keeping our sewer systems and public treatment works in good condition is a key part of maintaining and improving the quality of our waterways," said Eileen Sobek, Deputy Assi”