ASHLAND, Ky. (WSAZ) – A Kentucky oil well owner has pleaded guilty to illegally dumping brine water, a waste product of oil production, into a Lawrence County creek for about two years, killing aquatic life and heavily contaminating the waterway, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Josh Ferguson, of Martha, Kentucky, admitted in a plea agreement that he discharged brine water from a metal storage tank through a hose running across a field into the Left Fork Blaine Creek, according to the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky. <\/p>\n
A Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection inspector found the setup on Sept. 3, 2025, after regulators received a tip about the dumping.<\/p>\n
Downstream from the discharge point, the creek water was orange and showed \u201cno signs of life,\u201d and tests revealed extremely elevated chloride levels, prosecutors said. <\/p>\n
Ferguson acknowledged to the inspector that he had been releasing the waste into the creek to save money and did not have a permit to do so.<\/p>\n
The Left Fork Blaine Creek is considered a water of the United States and is protected under the federal Clean Water Act.<\/p>\n
\u201cDumping oil-production waste into Kentucky waterways to save money is both illegal and unacceptable,\u201d First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman said in a statement announcing the plea. He said the case underscores federal efforts to protect public health and \u201csafeguard the natural resources that our communities rely on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leslie Y. Carroll, acting special agent in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s criminal enforcement program in Kentucky, said the ongoing discharges \u201cthreatened the public and aquatic life downstream \u2014 putting profits over people and the environment\u201d and vowed that EPA and its partners \u201cwill investigate violations and hold polluters accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investigation was conducted by EPA\u2019s Criminal Investigation Division and the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection. <\/p>\n
Ferguson is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 10. He faces up to three years in prison and a minimum fine of at least $5,000 per day of violation. <\/p>\n
The final sentence will be determined by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning after consideration of federal sentencing guidelines and statutes.<\/p>\n
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