GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — A Grand Haven company, its president and vice president have been sentenced for violating the Clean Water Act.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten announced ASP Plating Company of Grand Haven, its president Gary Rowe and vice president Frederick Rowe were sentenced Tuesday and collectively ordered to pay more than $50,000 in financial penalties.
Officials say between 2015 and 2021, ASP Plating Company routinely violated its industrial pretreatment permit by discharging zinc in excess of the daily and monthly limitations, by releasing zinc in batches without notice, and by bypassing the mandatory pretreatment system entirely.
Gary Rowe, the company’s president, pleaded guilty to a felony violation and was sentenced to three months and one day in custody, to be followed by nine months of location monitoring as a part of a one-year term of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine, $13,500 due to the Grand Haven-Spring Lake Sewer Authority under an administrative consent order, $4,212.54 in restitution to the City of Grand Haven, and a $100 special assessment.
Stephen Rowe, the company’s vice president, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor violations and was sentenced to 14 days in jail, one year of supervised release, a $10,000 fine, $4,212.54 in restitution, and a $25 special assessment.
ASP Plating Company, which filed for bankruptcy in October 2022, pleaded guilty to a felony violation and was sentenced to three years of probation, a $5,000 fine, a $400 special assessment, and the restitution amounts Gary Rowe was ordered to pay.
“The success of the Clean Water Act depends in part on industrial permit holders diligently complying with the law to ensure public health and safety measures are upheld,” said U.S. Attorney Totten. “If you can’t afford to follow environmental laws, you shouldn’t be in business. And if you commit environmental crimes in this district, all sentencing options are on the table, including jail time and substantial fines.”
