REALTY COMPANY FINED FOR ILLEGAL DUMPING
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El Paso County Attorney José R.
Rodríguez announced today the sentencing of a corporation accused of violating
the State Illegal Dumping Statute on a piece of property in Northeast El Paso
County.
Through
the coordinated efforts of the Special Investigations Unit of the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Bill Walker Realty was charged with
illegal dumping, in violation of the Texas Health and Safety Code, section
365.012.
The
offense occurred on or about March
25, 2004 when an employee of the YWCA on Texas Avenue found several 5-gallon
containers filled with an unknown substance behind the YWCA property. The
substance turned out to be industrial dyes. The dyes were traced back to one of
the properties owned by Bill Walker Realty, who pled guilty to illegal
dumping.
On
September 6, 2006, Judge Alma Trejo,
assessed Bill Walker Realty a $1,000.00 fine,
court costs, and restitution in the amount of $3,200 to the YWCA, the
cost of legally disposing of the dyes.
“Illegal dumping is a serious
environmental crime which we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law,”
said Rodríguez. “Illegal dumping, especially the dumping of industrial waste,
is dangerous and bad for the environment because it contaminates the land. It
is unfair for the victim to have to pay for the expensive legal disposal of unscrupulous
illegal dumpers, looking to save a buck by illegally disposing of their waste.”
Rodríguez
added that illegal dumping is an on-going problem in the county
of El Paso, and he stressed that the County Attorney’s
Office will continue to prosecute such offenders. The penalty for illegal
dumping ranges from a fine up to $10,000 for an individual, or up to 2 years in
jail, or both. For an association or corporation, the fine is up to $10,000.
To report illegal dumping
or other environmental crime, call your local law enforcement agency, the
Environmental Hotline at 1-888-6EL-PASO, El
Paso Police Dept. at 832-4400, or El Paso Sheriff’s
Dept. at 546-2280.
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Realty Sentencing.pdf