The former owner and president of a Glassboro, New Jersey, drum reconditioning company was indicted for allegedly illegally storing and disposing of hazardous waste, U.S Attorney Craig Carpenito and Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, announced.

Thomas Toy, 73, of Elmer, New Jersey, was charged with one count of illegal storage and disposal of hazardous waste at the site of Superior Barrel and Drum Company Inc. (Superior) in Glassboro, New Jersey, in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

According to the Indictment, Superior received drums from various industrial customers, cleaned and processed those drums, and then resold them. Toy directed and supervised the operations of Superior, including the storage and disposal of large amounts of waste – including hazardous waste – at the company’s site. Superior did not have a permit to store or dispose of hazardous waste there. From Sept. 27, 2013, to Sept. 25, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted a removal action of waste stored at Superior’s site. Approximately 1,800 containers of waste were removed, and much of the waste was found to be hazardous. The EPA’s removal cost was $4.2 million.

Toy was charged under RCRA, which was enacted in 1976 to address a growing nationwide problem with industrial and municipal waste. The law is designed to protect human health and the environment and provided controls on the management and disposal of hazardous waste. It prohibits the treatment, storage or disposal of any hazardous waste without a permit. The charge on which Toy was indicted carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or loss caused by the offense.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the direction Special Agent in Charge Tyler C. Amon, with the investigation leading to today’s charge.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen P. O’Leary of the Health Care and Government Fraud Unit in Newark and Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The charge and allegations against Toy are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.