Guilty plea on MagnaGro water violations

Topeka, Kan.-The owner of MagnaGro International Inc., which produces plant stimulants in Lawrence, Kan., has pleaded guilty to unlawfully discharging fertilizer waste into the city sewer system and faces a maximum sentence of a year in federal prison and a fine up to $25,000 per day of violation along with his company, which faces a possible fine of $50,000 or more per day of violation, according to the U.S. attorney’s office here. Sentencing is set for June 1. Raymond Sawyer and the company were charged with criminal violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which also is known as the Clean Water Act. In their pleas, Sawyer and the company admitted discharging a large quantity of industrial waste from fertilizer production into the city of Lawrence’s sewer system, interfering with the operation of the sewer system. The Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment and the city of Lawrence ordered Sawyer to discharge no more material into the sewer system. In September 2007, EPA agents found Sawyer and MagnaGro discharging waste from the fertilizer operation into the city’s sewer system via a hose inserted into a toilet stool. For 10 years, investigators determined, Sawyer and the company had been discharging waste through the hose. The hose was used to pump material into the toilet from a waste pit surrounding a mixing vat. MagnaGro produces plant stimulants designed around root growth and plant metaphysical functions and blending soluble plant foods like MiracleGro to support the main product. Sawyer told Green Markets that he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for himself and a felony for his company “as the cheapest way out.” He said he doubted MagnaGro would be in business after March. His case has been dragging on for a year and a half, during which time, he said, the city shut off the water and dug up the sewer line. But he said that didn’t stop him. He hauled in thousands of gallons of water and hauled out the production wash to continue his plant operations.