NEW BERN, N.C. — American Distillation Inc. (ADI) pleaded guilty to knowingly polluting the Cape Fear River with tert-Butyl alcohol (TBOH) and other chemicals in violation of the federal Clean Water Act.
ADI is a chemical processing company located in Navassa.
According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, the company’s owner, Andrew J. Simmons Jr., also pleaded guilty to failing to pay federal taxes.
Andrew J. Simmons, Jr.(NC DOJ)
This follows Barry Darnell White, the company’s former plant manager, earlier guilty plea for discharging pollutants into the Cape Fear River in violation of the Clean Water Act on ADI’s behalf.
“This was not an accident, and it was not a paperwork violation,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “ADI deliberately decided to dump harmful chemicals into a North Carolina river to increase profits. When corporations choose pollution over safety, we will hold them criminally accountable and enforce the law without hesitation.”
According to court information, ADI was incorporated in 1992 to make and sell industrial grade ethyl alcohol. ADI regularly accepts large quantities of tert-Butyl alcohol from its customers. TBOH is a highly flammable, colorless oily liquid with a sharp alcohol odor. TBOH is a pollutant that constitutes a solid waste, chemical waste and an industrial waste under the law.
During distillation, ADI created and stored byproducts in an approximately 250,000-gallon storage tank known as Tank 14, which regularly stored liquid wastewater that included TBOH, isopropyl alcohol, and acetone mixed with water.
Beginning in late 2019 through 2024, ADI accepted more TBOH and other chemicals from its customers than it could legally and safely process and remove, despite its EPA-issued permit requiring ADI to properly dispose of TBOH byproduct.
“From 2020 to 2024, five to six times per year, White released approximately 2,500 gallons of liquid wastewater from Tank 14 by connecting a hose that drained into a nearby pipe that drained directly to the Cape Fear River. ADI released TBOH byproduct from Tank 14 into the Cape Fear River to ensure maximum profits without ceasing operations. ADI management had informed some employees that if operations came to a halt, the company would suffer serious financial harm, potentially including dissolution,” said the North Carolina Department of Justice.
ADI management allegedly informed some employees that if operations came to a halt, the company would suffer serious financial harm, potentially including dissolution.
“The Cape Fear River features diverse habitats, from freshwater streams to a vital saltwater estuary, supporting rare aquatic species and old-growth forests. The company’s multi-year illegal discharges of industrial waste poses a serious threat to the River’s water quality and is harmful to ecosystems,” said Chuck Carfagno, Special Agent in Charge of the EPA’s criminal enforcement program in North Carolina.
According to the North Carolina Department of Justice, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Beraka is prosecuting the case. The EPA Criminal Investigation Division, EPA Office of Inspector General and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case.
“The defendant’s alleged repeated dumping of chemical-laden wastewater into North Carolina rivers and streams was a brazen violation of the Clean Water Act that defrauded the EPA and endangered communities that rely on those waters,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Keith Squires of the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General. “Today’s action shows the EPA OIG’s firm commitment to working with our partners to defend our waterways and hold violators fully accountable when they attempt to profit at the expense of human health and the environment.”
Copyright 2025 WECT. All rights reserved.