A federal judge has assessed the Southern Union Co. (SUG) $18 million for illegally storing mercury at a company-owned site in Pawtucket, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
The sentence imposed in federal court includes a $6 million criminal fine and $12 million in payments to community initiatives including the Rhode Island Foundation, the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Emergency Response Fund and Hasbro'sChildren's Hospital.
John Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha and Michael Hubbard, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Area Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division, jointly announced the sentence, which U.S. District Court Judge William Smith imposed in U.S. District Court in Providence, R.I.
Judge Smith stayed the fine and other assessments while the company appeals the conviction.
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