Hanover Man Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements to EPA

A 46-year-old man from Hanover pleaded guilty to making false statements to the United States Environmental Protection Agency “regarding the levels of toxic pollutants in the industrial wastewater discharged by Anodize, Inc., the Buffalo-based machine shop where he worked,” according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Brent Roland Feickert specifically pleaded guilty to one count of making false statements to the EPA.

Feickert was charged May 13, 2013 and entered his plea before a U.S. District Court Judge June 13.

The Anodize operations include metal plating which yields industrial wastewater “containing heavy metals and toxic pollutants. Anodize discharges the industrial wastewater into the sanitary sewer system pursuant to limits set forth in its discharge permit. Under the conditions of its permit, the concentration of toxic pollutants, including nickel and zinc, must be below specified limits set by the EPA,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The permit is monitored by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, which require companies to submit quarterly reports.

At Anodize, Feickert was responsible for receiving and reviewing the results of tests performed on the company’s industrial wastewater and then entering those results on the quarterly discharge reports submitted to the MPCA, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In his plea agreement, Feickert reportedly admitted that on five occasions between 2009 and 2011, he submitted false quarterly discharge reports to the MPCA states levels of nickel or zinc were within permit limits.

“In each instance, testing had revealed and Feickert knew that the levels of nickel or zinc were in excess of permit limits,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release.

Feickert faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Sentencing will be determined at a future hearing.