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Fracking Wastewater Dumping Prompts Federal Charges

Prosecutors are charging a northeast Ohio man with violating the federal Clean Water Act, saying he told an employee to dump fracking wastewater into a storm sewer. The U.S. Attorney's Office announced the charge Thursday against 62-year-old Ben Lupo of Poland, near Youngstown. He pleaded not guilty.  Lupo owns Hardrock Excavating LLC. He faces up to three years in prison, a $250,000 fine and a year of supervised release if convicted. Authorities allege Lupo on Jan. 31 directed that at least 20,000 gallons of drilling mud and brine be discharged into a sewer that empties into the Mahoning River watershed.  The Ohio Department of Natural Resources revoked the permits of Hardrock, a brine hauler, and D&L Energy after workers at the companies' Youngstown headquarters reported seeing the material being dumped.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.