Wabash Pleads Guilty To Illegal Dump

October 07, 2004

KNOXVILLE - Wabash National Corporation, an Indiana-based firm with former plant operations in Huntsville, pled guilty last week in U.S. District Court here to dumping more than 120,000 gallons of a "caustic solution" into New River.

In entering the plea, the company, which manufactures truck trailers, admitted to twice committing criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The federal charges stemmed from an April 2000 incident at the Huntsville facility.

As a part of the plea bargain, Wabash agreed to pay $400,000 in fines. The company has already paid a civil fine of $100,000, levied by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Wabash officials contended that the dumping of the chemicals was unintentional, and said that the firm "regretted" the incident.

As a part of the evidence against the corporation, the government said that two unidentified Scott County children received chemical burns on their feet and ankles while playing in a creek that feeds into New River.

The chemical solution was said to have entered the creek by way of a storm drain, which was installed at the plant in 1999 as part of a $30 million venture by the company to install an Electro-Shield paint finishing process at the plant. The storm drain, which was installed by a subcontractor, were meant to carry storm water Òfrom paved areas outside of the building to a retention pond, which discharged into an unnamed tributary of the New River,Ó court records stated. The subcontractor, however, believed that those drains were Òpart of a combined storm water/sanitary sewer which led to the Helenwood Wastewater Treatment plant in Huntsville.Ó

After the system had been installed, employees of the subcontractor used a solution containing sodium hydroxide to clean the tanks before the Electro-Shield system was launched. More than 32,000 pounds of the chemical were used, and more than 120,000 gallons of the solution were pumped into the storm drain system after the tanks had been cleaned.

Court records stated that the Scott County Emergency Management Agency was notified on April 7, 2000, that two children had received chemical burns on their feet and ankles. Those records further stated that the injuries were not life-threatening and that the children had fully recovered.

Wabash National closed its Huntsville plant in July 2001. The plant had employed 373 workers. The facility is currently up for sale, with Scott County officials reportedly close to a deal that would bring a corporation to the plant, which has been vacant since 2001. news@ihoneida.com

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