Braulio Agosto-Vega Agosto was the owner and principal officer of a closely-held family corporation, Mansiones de Hacienda Jimenez, Inc (Mansiones), a real estate development company which he used to develop a housing project in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, called Mansiones de Hacienda Jimnez. The development began selling units in 2003, with the first purchasers moving into their residences in the summer of 2004. Almost immediately, several of the new homeowners began to experience frequent over flows of raw sewage from the septic tanks located in front of their houses. These tanks would become completely full, often in a matter of days, and raw sewage would routinely overflow into the front yards, onto the sidewalks, and into streets, where it would then drain into the storm sewers. Raw sewage would also bubble up inside the homes through the toilets, the bath tubs, and the sink drains. As would be expected, the septic tank issue became contentious and was the subject of numerous meetings, telephone calls, and correspondence between the homeowners individually, the Homeowners Association, and Agosto, his representatives, and his lawyers. Although at first Agosto paid reputable companies to dispose of the waste, he soon turned to Mansiones employees. They would use a hose to suction the raw sewage from the septic tanks and either discharge the wastewater directly into storm drains that emptied directly into Jimenez Creek through an underground pipe, or into a large tank truck registered to Agosto Motors (another company owned by Agosto), which would then be emptied into the storm drains, onto land adjacent to the Creek's basin, or into the Creek itself. The Creek is a tributary of the Espfritu Santo River, a major river on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. In March and April of 2005, after receiving multiple complaints, the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (EQB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) investigated the allegations regarding the discharges into the Creek. The investigation revealed that thousands of gallons of raw sewage had been discharged into the Creek. These discharges caused the water in the Creek, at times, to turn black and reek of sewage. On May 11, 2005, Agosto and Agosto's brother, Juan, were indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with engaging in a conspiracy to violate the CWA, as well as three counts of aiding and abetting in the unlawful discharge of raw sewage from a point source into waters of the United States, namely the Creek. Agosto Motors was charged with two of the three counts of aiding and abetting alleged in the indictment. Discuss whether the two can be held criminally liable under the CWA.
Quick Reply
