BALTIMORE MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO
ILLEGALLY DUMPING WASTEWATER

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran, Jr. announced today that Mickel Tomlin, 44, of the 2300 block of Hollins Street, Baltimore, was sentenced as a result of being found guilty of one count of unlawful disposal of hazardous waste. Tomlin pled guilty to dumping brick washing wastewater in the 1300 block of North Calhoun Street in West Baltimore on November 9, 2000. Tomlin was hired to wash the front of a neighborhood house and in the process generated wastewater that contained illegal levels of lead. Some of the wastewater collected at the jobsite was dumped on a vacant lot nearby.

Baltimore City Circuit Court Judge William D. Quarles placed Tomlin on two years of supervised probation and ordered him to complete 100 hours of community service work. If Tomlin fails to complete the work service or violates the terms of his probation, the court has reserved the right to impose a sentence of up to the statutory maximum of five years in jail.

"The lead-laden wastewater that was dumped at the West Baltimore site posed a threat to the environment and to the people who live in that area," Attorney General Curran said. "The laws exist to protect citizens from hazardous conditions caused by the wreckless dumping of lead wastewater and other toxins, and we intend to fully enforce those laws."

The charges follow a joint investigation by the Baltimore City Police Department and the Office of the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Unit, with assistance of the Baltimore City Department of Public Works' Pollution Control Section. The conviction is a result of the continued efforts of the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Unit to combat hazardous waste and water pollution violations resulting from paint removal from city building facades.

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