United States of America v. Michael H. Weitzenhoff; Thomas W. Mariani

Facts

The defendants were managers of the East Honolulu Community Services Sewage Treatment Plant, which is located near Sandy Beach. It operates under a permit issued pursuant to the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System, which established the limits on the Total Suspended Solids (“TSS”) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (“BOD”) – indicators of the solid and organic matter, respectively, in the effluent discharged at Sandy Beach. During the period in question, the permit limited the discharge of both the TSS and BOD to an average of 976 pounds per day over a 30-day period. It also imposed monitoring and sampling requirements on the plant’s management.

From March 1987 through March 1988, the excess waste activated sludge (“WAS”) generated by the plant was hauled away to another treatment plant, the Sand Island Facility. In March 1988, certain improvements were made to the East Honolulu plant and the hauling was discontinued. Within a few weeks, however, the plant began experiencing a buildup of excess WAS. Instead of continuing the practice of hauling away WAS, defendants instead instructed two Plant employees to dispose of 436,000 pounds of WAS directly into the ocean on 40 separate occasions. Most of the WAS discharges occurred during the night, and none was reported to the DOH or EPA.

Following an FBI investigation, the defendants were charged with several violations of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). To be convicted, the state had to prove that the defendants “knowingly” violated the CEW. The court construed “knowingly” as requiring only that the defendants were aware that they were discharging the pollutants in question, not that they new they were violating the terms of the statute or permit. The defendants argued that they believed their conduct was authorized by the permit.

The jury found them guilty.