Maryland Company and Owner Sentenced For Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act Violations

On Feb. 13, 1998, Kerry L. Ellis, Sr. of Pasadena, Md., owner of Seawitch Salvage Inc., of Baltimore, and Seawitch Salvage were sentenced in U.S. Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore on several felony violations.

Ellis was sentenced to serve 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. Seawitch was ordered to serve five years probation and pay a $50,000 fine.

The violations were committed while Seawitch was executing a contract with the U.S. Navy to demolish and scrap two vessels, the U.S.S. Illusive, a minesweeper, and the U.S.S. Coral Sea, an aircraft carrier.

Between May 1993 and September 1995, Ellis and Seawitch directed their employees to remove material which contained asbestos from the ships; however, neither Ellis nor Seawitch were licensed to engage in asbestos abatement and removal activities as required under the Clean Air Act.

During the removal, workers were exposed to asbestos without protective equipment. Such exposure can significantly increase the risk of lung cancer, certain gastrointestinal cancers, mesothelioma and a lung disease known as "asbestosis."

Ellis and Seawitch were also convicted of discharging oil, construction debris, paint chips, metal fragments, insulation materials and other pollutants into the Patapsco River in violation of the Clean Water Act.

The investigation was conducted by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Baltimore Environmental Crimes Task Force, EPA Region 3 Environmental Services Division and EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center.