The state of Wisconsin’s Attorney General, Peg Lautenschlager, announced that her office has reached an agreement with the current and former owners and operators of a Milwaukee recycling plant to either clean up the site within one year or pay a forfeiture of $125,000.
Shoreline Support Corp., Shoreline of Wisconsin, David Ahern and Anton J. Matuszczak have, in various capacities, owned and operated the site in Milwaukee since 1988.
In the agreement approved in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on earlier this month, the defendants admitted that they had diverted and filled a navigable tributary of the Milwaukee River and had stored solid waste on the site without a permit.
David Ahern of Milwaukee, the former operator of the site, agreed to pay a forfeiture of $25,000. Anton Matuszczak of West Bend, Wisconsin, and Shoreline Support Corporation, the current owners and operators of the facility, agreed to restore the waterway and remove or recycle the solid waste from the site. If they fail to do so, the judge has authorized the state to impose a forfeiture of $100,000.
"The operators have agreed to clean up the mess, and that is a positive step,” Lautenschlager said. “But the operators know, and others who illegally operate solid waste facilities should know, that there are serious consequences to violating environmental protection laws - not only the financial penalties but the threat to the environment we are pledged to protect.”
The Department of Justice filed the lawsuit at the request of the Department of Natural Resources. Assistant Attorney General Jerry Hancock represents the state.