The president of a chemical company is facing multiple charges in connection to allegedly neglecting maintenance updates at the facility, which led to an oil spill into the Flint River in 2022, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
Rajinder Singh Minhas, 60, of Rochester, the director, president and treasurer of Lockhart Chemical Company was arraigned on one count of:
- falsely altering a public record (14-year felony)
- uttering and publishing a false or altered public record (14-year felony)
- substantial endangerment to the public (5-year felony)
- discharge of injurious substance to waters of the state (2-year felony)
- false statements and omissions regarding air pollution control (1-year misdemeanor)
- general violations of air pollution control law, punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 for each day violations occur.
Minhas was charged with 11 misdemeanor offenses for violating hazardous waste statutes, permits, or rules. According to Nessel, “conviction on these charges would require Minhas to pay for all costs of corrective actions associated with the violations, in addition to a potential 1-year of incarceration and a fine of up to $25,000.”
He is also charged with nine misdemeanor violations of Michigan’s industrial waste law. These charges come for the alleged discharge of industrial by-products, violating the requirements for reporting details after the discharge, and for violating guidelines regarding labeling chemical containers and record-keeping. The company also allegedly violated the requirements for storing, disposing of, and protecting liquid industrial waste.
Each of the nine misdemeanor counts is punishable by 6 months of incarceration and a $1,000 to $2,500 fine for each day that the violation happened.
“Those who run a business have a responsibility to ensure their operations do not jeopardize public health or the environment, especially our precious water resources,” Nessel said. “Blatant neglect and disregard of this responsibility cannot be tolerated, and I will continue to make sure those who fail in this duty are met with the full force of the law.”
Minhas is scheduled to appear in court again on Jan. 2, 2025.
This comes after 15,000 gallons of an oil-chemical mixture was released from the Flint-based company and into the Flint River on June 15, 2022.
The company manufactured coatings, metalworking additives, hydraulic fluids and lubricants.
After the spill, in Sept. 2022, Nessel announced that EGLE had ordered the company to stop using defective wastewater and to pump the wastewater for offsite disposal.
Since then, Lockhart has filed for bankruptcy. State officials and the EPA have been monitoring this to ensure no further chemical releases come from the facility.
Watch the video below for more information about the spill:
