Kentucky man indicted on 22 charges of illegal hazardous waste disposal

On July 16, a federal grand jury indicted Cory David Hoskins of Kentucky on 22 charges related to illegally shipping hazardous waste and five related charges of mail fraud for his alleged role in illegally shipping hazardous byproducts derived from fracking to the Blue Ridge Landfill in Estill County, Kentucky, the Lexington Herald Reader reports. Advanced Disposal, Ponte Vedra, Florida, was the operator of the landfill in 2015, which is when the purported infractions occurred.

Hoskins, who operated two companies, Advanced TENORM and BES LLC, engaged with Fairmont Brine Processing based in Fairmont, West Virginia, and told the company he could dispose of Fairmont’s fracking-related sludge that contained low levels of radioactivity.

Hoskins reportedly told Fairmont that the sludge would be hauled in trucks in compliance of Department of Transportation rules governing hazardous waste transport. He also told the company that his team contained engineers, nuclear physicists and other hazardous waste specialists who would oversee the disposal; however, no such professionals made up the employee base of Hoskins’ companies.

To cut costs, Hoskins instead allegedly hired drivers who weren’t certified to haul hazardous waste. Additionally, these drivers were never told that the waste they were transporting was radioactive. Further, Hoskins labeled the waste as nonhazardous and never told Blue Ridge’s operators about the composition of the waste.

The indictment details 22 shipments were made from West Virginia and Ohio between July 22 and Aug. 27, 2015.

In 2018, the state proposed a settlement for the waste to remain in the landfill with a cap over it; however, some area citizens have protested that proposal.

The indictment against Hoskins requests a judgment of $127,110, which reflects the amount he grossed from the transaction with Fairmont Brine. If convicted, he could also face up to 20 years in prison for mail fraud. The violation of hazardous material laws could merit a prison sentence up to five years.