American Biodiesel employees indicted by federal grand jury for Clean Water Act violations

In California, a federal grand jury returned a 17-count indictment on Thursday against American Biodiesel Inc. and two employees at its biodiesel fuel manufacturing plant in Stockton for Clean Water Act violations, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

American Biodiesel Inc., registered in San Joaquin County as Community Fuels, manufactured biodiesel fuel at 809-C Snedeker Avenue, Stockton, on property leased from the Port of Stockton. The company is charged with conspiracy, 12 counts of tampering with monitoring equipment, two counts of unlawful discharge of industrial wastewater, and one count of false statements.

According to the indictment, Christopher Young, 41, of El Dorado Hills, is charged with conspiracy, 12 counts of tampering with monitoring equipment, two counts of unlawful discharge of industrial wastewater, one count of false statements, and one count of witness tampering. The same indictment charges his brother Jeremiah Young, 38, of El Dorado, with conspiracy, eight counts of tampering with monitoring equipment, and two counts of unlawful discharge of industrial wastewater.

The indictment alleges that, from March 2009 through December 2016, Christopher Young was Director of Operations, which is the highest-ranking position at Community Fuels’ manufacturing plant. In this capacity, he directed employees to tamper with pH, and flow and volume monitoring devices to allow Community Fuels to discharge hundreds of thousands of gallons of polluted industrial wastewater into the City of Stockton Municipal Utility District sewer in violation of the company’s wastewater discharge permit and in violation of the Clean Water Act. Jeremiah Young, while working as an Assistant Operator for Community Fuels from 2014 to 2016, allegedly participated in the conspiracy and in certain Clean Water Act violations.