May 13, 2016
By:
Walter G. Wright
Category:
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
Arkansas Environmental, Energy, and Water Law
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The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) announced in a recent news release the arrest of an individual (Orestes Linares) for alleged felony illegal disposal of harmful substances and aggravated criminal damage to property.
LDEQ states that its Criminal Investigation Division (“CID”) investigators arrested the individual for allegedly hauling chemicals to the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana and dumping them in a vacant lot near a storm drain.
The news release states that the City of New Orleans Fire Department and LDEQ Emergency Response personnel had received a complaint from City Council employees about drums of chemicals leaking at a particular address. The emergency responders were stated to have found nine drums leaking liquid chemicals that caused a chemical reaction and formed piles of orange colored foam insulation.
LDEQ’s CID investigators are stated to have retrieved identification labels from the drums and trace them back to the original owner.
The news release describes the method for identifying the individual allegedly associated with the dumped chemicals stating:
Investigators with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s Criminal Investigation Division were able to retrieve identification labels from the drums and trace them back to the original owner, Construction 419 LLC. Investigators learned that Linares, a former employee of Construction 419 LLC, allegedly took the drums without permission, dumped them in the vacant lot on Lizardi Street and intentionally punctured them, allowing their contents to spill out on the ground near a storm drain.
A copy of the news release can be downloaded below.
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