Two individuals including a company executive have been indicted for their roles in a conspiracy to illegally transport and dispose of hazardous waste, announced DOJ.

The president and owner of Texas Oil and Gathering, Inc., and the company's operations manager were arrested and charged with illegally disposing of hazardous waste at facilities only approved to take oil and gas production waste. Texas Oil and Gathering, Inc., a licensed hazardous waste transporter and used oil handler, was also named in the indictment.

The owner and operations manager were arraigned in U.S. District Court in Houston, Texas. They are charged with 14 felony counts including conspiracy, violating the Safe Drinking Water Act, and violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

The Underground Injection Control provision of the Safe Drinking Water Act prohibits the unauthorized use of injection wells to prevent contamination of drinking water sources. EPA defines five classes of injections wells according to the type of fluid they inject. Class II injection wells reinsert fluids associated with oil and natural gas production back into the ground. Most of the injected fluid is saltwater or brine that is produced when oil and gas are extracted from the Earth. It is illegal to dispose of anything other than these fluids through Class II injection wells during this process.

The owner and operations manager allegedly conspired to purchase hazardous waste from multiple generator facilities and process it at their Texas Oil and Gathering facility. The pair then sold portions as a fuel additive, and directed their employees to transport the remaining hazardous waste, disguised with documents indicating the waste was from an oil production well, to "Disposal Facility A," which was not permitted by EPA to accept, store, or dispose of hazardous material.