GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An electroplating company in Grand Haven, along with its president and vice president, has plead guilty to clean water act offenses.
70-year-old Gary Rowe from Grand Haven is the president of ASP Plating Company. Stephen Rowe is the company’s vice president. According to the Department of Justice, ASP Plating Company held an industrial permit issued by the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Sewer Authority.
Between at least 2015-2021, the company violated the permit by dumping zinc in excess of the daily and monthly limitations. They released zinc without notice, which bypassed the mandatory pretreatment system entirely. The company’s discharges were periodically monitored by The Sewer Authority. However, Gary and Stephen Rowe instructed employees to make sure the monitor was absent before discharging the wastewater containing excessive amounts of zinc.
ASP Plating and Gary Rowe pled guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act. Stephen Rowe pled guilty to a misdemeanor.
“No resource is more precious in Michigan than our waters, which define the very boundaries of our state,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “These defendants blatantly and repeatedly thwarted their obligation to properly treat and dispose of wastewater. As U.S. Attorney, I will do everything I can to protect our water. Individuals and businesses that commit environmental crimes will be held accountable.”
