Group responsible for sunken towboat that spilled oil in Big Sandy River plead guilty to discharge of refuse into navigable waters – WV MetroNews

WAYNE COUNTY, W.Va. — A Kentucky Man and two businesses plead guilty to discharge of refuse into the West Virginia shore of the Big Sandy River.

David K. Smith, 55, of Paducah, Kentucky, River Marine Enterprises, LLC, and Western River Assets, LLC, all pleaded guilty Tuesday to discharge of refuse into navigable waters.

According to court documents and statements made in court, sometime around January 10, 2018, the Gate City, a towboat owned by Western River Assets had sank while it was docked, discharging oil and other substances into the Big Sandy River. The Gate City had been docked along the West Virginia shore of the Big Sandy River from at least 2010 until January 2018.

As a direct result of the oil spill from the Gate City, the City of Kenova, West Virginia, had to close its municipal drinking water intake for three days. Other regulatory agencies also had to take action and expended resources in response to the incident.

River Marine Enterprises operated the Gate City at the time. Smith was also the sole owner and officer of both River Marine Enterprises and Western River Assets.

The United States Coast Guard had issued an administrative order to Smith on December 5, 2017, stating that the Gate City presented an “imminent and substantial threat to the public health or welfare of the environment because of a threatened discharge of oil from the vessel.” The Coast Guard conducted an inspection of the Gate City in or around November 2017.

As part of the administrative order, Smith was required to remove all oil and hazardous materials from the towboat prior to January 31, 2018, however he admitted that at the time of the spill in January 2018, he had yet to comply with the order.

Sentencing for Smith, River Marine Enterprises and Western River Assets is scheduled for February 26, 2024. Smith faces between 30 days and one year in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $100,000 fine. River Marine Enterprises and Western River Assets were each fined $200,000 and received five years of federal probation.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia Will Thompson announced the pleas Tuesday. He commended the investigative work of the United States Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division (EPA CID) as well as the U.S. Coast Guard, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and the West Virginia National Guard for their work in the case.