American Distillation Pleads Guilty After Releasing Pollution into the Cape Fear River

NEW BERN, N.C. - American Distillation, Inc. (ADI) pleaded guilty to knowingly discharging tert-Butyl alcohol and other pollutants into the Cape Fear River in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. ADI is a chemical processing company located in Navassa, outside of Wilmington. The company's owner, Andrew J. Simmons, Jr., also pleaded guilty to failing to pay federal taxes. These guilty pleas follow an earlier guilty plea by ADI's former plant manager, Barry Darnell White, to discharging pollutants into the Cape Fear River in violation of the Clean Water Act on ADI's behalf.

"This was not an accident, and it was not a paperwork violation," said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. "ADI deliberately decided to dump harmful chemicals into a North Carolina river to increase profits. When corporations choose pollution over safety, we will hold them criminally accountable and enforce the law without hesitation."

"The Cape Fear River features diverse habitats, from freshwater streams to a vital saltwater estuary, supporting rare aquatic species and old-growth forests. The company's multi-year illegal discharges of industrial waste poses a serious threat to the River's water quality and is harmful to ecosystems," said Chuck Carfagno, Special Agent in Charge of the EPA's criminal enforcement program in North Carolina. "Today's guilty plea demonstrates that the EPA and its partner agencies are committed to protecting the environment and pursuing those who threaten our natural resources."

"The defendant willfully engaged in a long pattern of violations of the internal revenue laws," said Special Agent in Charge Donald "Trey" Eakins, Charlotte Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. "Tax evasion is not a victimless crime, it affects every American by stealing resources vital to fund schools, maintain public infrastructure, and enhance social welfare."

"The defendant's alleged repeated dumping of chemical-laden wastewater into North Carolina rivers and streams was a brazen violation of the Clean Water Act that defrauded the EPA and endangered communities that rely on those waters," said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Keith Squires of the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General. "Today's action shows the EPA OIG's firm commitment to working with our partners to defend our waterways and hold violators fully accountable when they attempt to profit at the expense of human health and the environment."

According to the information presented in court, ADI was incorporated in 1992 to make and sell industrial grade ethyl alcohol. ADI regularly accepts large quantities of tert-Butyl alcohol (TBOH) from its customers. TBOH is highly flammable, colorless oily liquid with a sharp alcohol odor. TBOH is a pollutant that constitutes a solid waste, chemical waste, and an industrial waste under the law. During distillation, ADI created and stored byproducts in an approximately 250,000-gallon storage tank (known as Tank 14), which regularly stored liquid wastewater that included TBOH, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone mixed with water.

ADI's EPA-issued permit required ADI to properly dispose of TBOH byproduct, but beginning in late 2019 through 2024, ADI accepted more TBOH and other chemicals from its customers than it could legally and safely process and remove. From 2020 to 2024, five to six times per year, White released approximately 2,500 gallons of liquid wastewater from Tank 14 by connecting a hose that drained into a nearby pipe that drained directly to the Cape Fear River. ADI released TBOH byproduct from Tank 14 into the Cape Fear River to ensure maximum profits without ceasing operations. ADI management had informed some employees that if operations came to a halt, the company would suffer serious financial harm, potentially including dissolution.

Congress enacted the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to as the Clean Water Act (CWA) in 1948 and amended it substantially in 1972 to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters. In addition, the CWA prevents, reduces, and eliminates water pollution in the United States to conserve the Waters of the United States for the protection and propagation of fish and aquatic life and wildlife, for recreational purposes, and for the use of such waters for public drinking water, agricultural, and industrial purposes.

The CWA prohibits the discharge of pollutants into the waters of the United States from any point source without a permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ("NPDES"). The discharge of any pollutant by any person is unlawful except in compliance with such a permit. Under the CWA, the EPA may delegate the authority to states to implement and enforce NPDES permits to states. The EPA delegated such authority in 1975 to North Carolina.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Beraka is prosecuting the case. The EPA Criminal Investigation Division, EPA Office of Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:25-CR-00097-FL.