Sidney, Nebraska, man sentenced for illegally dumping hazardous waste

A former Sidney, Nebraska, man has been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $22,000 for illegally disposing of hazardous waste materials, reports the Scottsbluff Star Herald.

Federal judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Edward Miller, 44, to 33 months imprisonment on a charge of disposing of hazardous waste without a permit. After he serves the sentence, he has been ordered to serve a three-year term of supervised release and is also ordered to pay $25,471 in restitution.

An investigation conducted by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division determined that on Oct. 24, 2017, Miller loaded a truck and flatbed trailer with various chemicals, which included pesticides, from a warehouse at Renkoski Property Development located in Sidney. The containers of chemicals were hazardous wastes due to their corrosivity and ignitability characteristics.

Later that day, Miller drove the truck and flatbed trailer with the hazardous wastes through Nebraska, where Miller, without a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit, disposed of the hazardous wastes by dumping, spilling and placing the hazardous wastes at three undeveloped sites approximately three miles south of Aurora, according to information released by U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska Joe Kelly.

“The defendant’s disregard for the law created serious human health and environmental hazards,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cate Holston of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division in Kansas said in a press release. “EPA and its law enforcement partners are committed to holding responsible parties accountable for violations that endanger our communities, first responders and the environment.”