Knoxville Service Provider Pleads Guilty to Dumping Pollutants into Holston River, Violating Clean Water Act

Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Knoxville man and business have plead guilty to polluting the Holston River back in 2018.

Christopher Domermuth and Domermuth Environmental Services both plead guilty Tuesday to violating the Clean Water Act.

Domermuth operated DES which processes petroleum-contaminated soil and water in Knoxville.

“On July 26, 2018, DES workers rolled over a previously exhumed underground storage tank which spilled a mixture of petroleum and water onto a concrete pad at the facility. DES employees and Mr. Domermuth threw absorbent pads into the spilled mixture and then used a portable pump to pump the petroleum-contaminated mixture over a retaining wall at DES. The oily mixture flowed over a neighboring property and into a culvert leading to the Holston River.” – U.S. Department of Justice

Domermuth faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison followed by supervised release for up to one year.