Virginia AG Filed Criminal Charges against Distillery Over Toxic Wastewater Discharges

JANUARY 15, 2021

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring brought criminal charges in response to unlawful discharges of more than 40,000 gallons of industrial wastewater from a Shenandoah-area distillery and attempts to deceive investigators about the cause and nature of the discharges. The case centers on a major discharge of zinc- and lead-contaminated wastewater that occurred in November 2018 and a series of smaller discharges that continued for nearly two years following the initial event. The case represents the first criminal prosecution for environmental violations brought by Attorney General Herring’s office and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. On November 5, 2021, AG Herring announced that the distillery and its owner pleaded guilty. The distillery will pay a $700,000 penalty, which will be used for education and infrastructure support for the affected community, as well as to make equipment upgrades to avoid future spills.