Attorney General Ken Paxton has secured a judgment of more than $60 million against David Polston and his companies, Inland Environmental and Remediation, Inland Recycling, and Boundary Ventures, for illegally dumping pollutants in Texas waterways and lands, his office announced Friday.
In 2019, a tributary of the Colorado River called Skull Creek turned black with chemical pollution, killing fish and wildlife.
Additionally, unpermitted pits of petroleum and chemical-laden earth and leaking chemical containers were discovered nearby, in violation of Texas law. The source was a sham recycling facility owned by Polston. Attorney General Paxton immediately sued to stop the pollution and spearheaded years of litigation that achieved an agreed final judgment penalizing Polston and his companies for their extensive environmental misconduct.
When Attorney General Paxton learned the owner of the polluted site had been paid for waste disposal on his property, he successfully pursued a court order requiring the landowner to restore the polluted property.
“I will not allow rogue corporations to pollute Texas’s land and rivers by illegally dumping dangerous chemicals that kill our wildlife and hurt the environment,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Companies that do business in Texas have a duty to take care of the land and follow the law. If you mess with Texas, you will face the consequences.”
Polston's problems
Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced on May 1, Inland Recycling, LLC CEO David Polston pleaded guilty to the offense of Intentional or Knowing Unauthorized Discharge.
In the release, Garza offers more background on the case.
"On December 8, 2021, a Travis County grand jury returned an indictment against Inland Recycling L.L.C. for the offense of Texas Water Code 7.145—Intentional or Knowing Unauthorized Discharge, a third-degree felony.
As part of the guilty plea, the Judge in the 299th District Court fined the corporate entity $75,000. In an agreement with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and Colorado County, 75 percent of the fine ($56,250) will be tendered to Colorado County and the remainder ($18,750) to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality."
Back in 2019
On February 8, 2019, according to the Garza release, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality received two complaints of an oil-like sheen, hydrocarbon odor, and dead fish in Skull Creek near Altair in Colorado County, TX.
TCEQ and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s KAST (Kills and Spills Team) responded and observed several dead fish in Skull Creek, which feeds into the Colorado River. The light sheen and gasoline odors were noted, and a chemical recycling facility located upstream of the kill area was a possible source: the Inland Recycling facility, an oil and gas waste recycling facility owned by David Polston.
On February 10, 2019, TCEQ, TPWD, and TRRC (Texas Railroad Commission) went to Inland Recycling for a more comprehensive evaluation of the site operation and noted multiple violations, including treating and discharging wastewater into Skull Creek. These agencies conducted further site investigations, and the Texas Attorney General determined that the site posed a severe health risk. A Travis County District Judge issued a temporary restraining order.
Later, the TCEQ Environmental Crimes Unit and TPWD Criminal Investigation Division verified that the Inland Recycling permit didn’t allow for said wastewater discharges. Samples taken in April 2019 indicated that the pollutant levels grossly exceeded levels established by state law, according to the release by Garza's office on May 1.
Justia has more about the 2019 case here.
