Company, Owners Charged With CWA Violations

Olymco, Inc., a Delaware chrome plating corporation doing business in the Canton, Ohio area, and its owners, Alex Sklavenitis and Nick Koumoutzis, were each charged on April 28 with allegedly violating the Clean Water Act by knowingly discharging industrial wastewater containing chromium into the Canton public sewer system.

Discharging chromium into sewer systems can interfere with the proper treatment of sewage, causing surface waters downstream from treatment plant outflows to be unhealthful for fish and wildlife. The contaminated waters can also become unuseable for drinking water and recreational purposes.

The case was investigated by the Cleveland Area Office of EPA's Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and the City of Canton Wastewater Treatment Department. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland.