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Logsdon Valley Oil, Inc., a/k/a Hart Petroleum, a Hart County, Ky., company was sentenced to three years of probation and fined $100,000 at U.S. District Court in Bowling Green for violating the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Acting Special Agent in Charge Leslie Carroll of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Criminal Investigation Division covering Kentucky made the announcement.

According to court documents, in 2019 Logsdon Valley Oil, Inc., a/k/a Hart Petroleum, illegally discharged produced fluid also known as brine water from oil and gas production into sinkholes without a permit in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Logsdon Valley Oil, Inc. was previously convicted of violating the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2013.

“The enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act is vital to keeping Kentucky’s groundwater safe,” said U.S. Attorney Bennett. “We will continue to pursue, in partnership with the EPA, those who violate federal environmental laws in order to keep our citizens safe and to protect Kentucky’s natural resources.” 

“Illegally injecting brine water into an unpermitted well violates the Safe Drinking Water Act and threatens the quality of groundwater,” said EPA Acting Special Agent in Charge Carroll. “Our nation’s environmental laws are designed to protect public health and safety, and the sentencing of Logsdon Valley Oil demonstrates that the EPA and its law enforcement partners will take action to protect communities and their local water supplies.”

This case was investigated by the Environment Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Judd prosecuted the case.