Businessman facing prison time for failure to remove toxic waste

Last month, an Owego industrial recycling business owner pled guilty to one felony count of violating the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery act

The owner of an Owego industrial recycling business faces up to five years in prison and a $15 million fine after pleading guilty in federal court to improperly storing and disposing of hazardous waste.

Brian Davis, age 46, plead guilty in May. Brian Davis owns Large Car LLC, at 3481 Waverly Road in Owego, N.Y.

Brian Davis admitted that in July 2013, he contracted with the owner of a waste facility in Keene, N.H., to remove waste that contained hazardous materials, including arsenic, lead, chromium and selenium, for storage and disposal at his own facility in Owego, N.Y. At the time of the discovery of such materials, officials could be scene in protective gear, searching the facility and surrounding area – although no details were being released.

In addition to this, Brian Davis did not possess the necessary permit or environmental license to deal with those types of hazardous materials.

In his plea agreement, Brian Davis acknowledged that for a period of 300 days, between July 2013 and May 2014, he knew that the materials in question had the potential to be harmful; stored the materials without properly isolating them from other materials, protecting them from the elements, fencing their storage area or labeling them as hazardous; and disposed of, according to reports, “… significant quantities of hazardous waste at the facility by repeatedly igniting and evaporating it, thereby contaminating the environment, by mixing it with other materials, and by giving it away to others without manifesting it.”

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and by criminal investigators with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

In addition to any fine and prison time, Brian Davis has agreed to pay for cleanup and removal of hazardous waste from the Owego, N.Y. facility. He is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 25 before Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy in Binghamton, N.Y.