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CLARKSVILLE BYPASS PROJECT MANAGERS INDICTED FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT

Release Date: 07/20/2006
Contact Information: Jim Rybicki, Public Information Officer, (703)842-4050 & Donna Heron, 215-814-5113

(Richmond, VA) – Loch Lawrence Louman, age 47, and Rick Callahan, age 43, both of Washington state, were indicted July 18, 2006 for violations of the Clean Water Act. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James L. Thompson, Jr., Special Agent-In-Charge, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); Joseph A. McMillan, Special Agent-in-Charge, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the criminal investigative arm of the Office of Inspector General, Department of Defense; and David K. Paylor, Director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), announced the indictment.

According to the indictment, in the spring of 2000, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) awarded a contract to AMEC Civil, L.L.C., previously doing business as Morse Diesel Civil, L.L.C., to complete the Clarksville Bypass Project in Mecklenburg, Virginia. This project involved the expansion of Route 58 south of the existing bridge, as well as the construction of a new bridge across the J.H. Kerr Reservoir. The J.H. Kerr reservoir is legally classified as a “State Water” and a “navigable water of the United States.” In accordance with state and federal law, VDOT obtained a Virginia Water Protection Permit (“VWP permit”), pursuant to the Virginia Water Protection Permit Regulations and Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. This permit governed the expansion project and included provisions prohibiting the pouring of wet or uncured concrete into State waters as well as the dumping of construction material or waste material into the reservoir.

The indictment alleges that during construction of the Clarksville Bypass Project, Louman, the Construction Project Manager, and Callahan, the Project Manager, knowingly used a hose to pump slurry, a mixture containing water, concrete, and plasticizer, into the J.H. Kerr Reservoir. The indictment also alleges that Louman and Callahan dumped slurry, construction waste, and scrap equipment into the reservoir from a barge in direct violation of the Clean Water Act. The indictment charges Louman and Callahan with one count of discharging pollutants in violation of the Clean Water Act, and one count of depositing refuse into a navigable water of the United States. If convicted, they will face a maximum sentence of three years’ imprisonment.

The case was investigated by agents of DCIS, DEQ, and the EPA and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Olivia N. Hawkins and Michael S. Dry as well as David Lastra, EPA Regional Criminal Enforcement Counsel.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.


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