Milwaukee Casting Foundry Sentenced for Violating the Clean Water Act

Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 27, 2023, United States District Court Judge Brett H. Ludwig ordered Milwaukee Precision Casting, Inc. (MPC) to pay a $100,000 criminal fine for negligently discharging pollutants into the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District.

On July 14, 2023, MPC was charged in a one-count Information with violating Title 33, United States Code, Sections 1317(d) and 1319(c)(1)(A). Those sections of the Clean Water Act make it a crime to negligently discharge pollutants with a pH lower than 5 to a publicly owned treatment works. MPC pleaded guilty to the Information on July 14, 2023. In its guilty plea, MPC acknowledged that it has operated a casting foundry in the city of Milwaukee since 1990. MPC also acknowledged that it operated without the necessary industrial pretreatment permits from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (“MMSD”)and that its employees had discharged untreated wastewater into a sewage system operated by the MMSD. In some cases, that discharge included wastewater that had a pH below 5, in violation of requirements promulgated by MMSD and the Environmental Protection Agency. According to information presented in court, the evidence collected by the Environmental Protection Agency during the investigation of this case demonstrated that MPC’s discharge included wastewater with a pH lower than 5 on seventeen days.

As part of its guilty plea, MPC agreed to pay $50,000 at the time of sentencing and to spend $50,000 on environmental compliance efforts above what is legally required over the next five years. In announcing his sentence, Judge Ludwig noted the importance of corporate compliance with environmental regulations and concluded that the $100,000 penalty was necessary to ensure future compliance and to send a message to other potential polluters that violations of environmental regulations carry significant penalties for corporate entities.

This case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Pete Smyczek and Julie Stewart.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.