César P. Borges-Arroyo, Neftalí Borges-Gómez, Erison Delgado-Santos, Héctor Fulgencio-Cabrera, and Ganaderos Borges Inc. (GBI), ended up indicted for four violations of the Clean Water Act as well as conspiring to violate the Clean Water Act.
The charges relate to the discharge of pollutants from GBI into nearby waters.
The defendants conspired for the benefit of GBI, to knowingly discharge a pollutant – specifically wastewater from the meat processing waste retention lagoon – into waters of the United States without having obtained a Clean Water Act permit, according to the indictment.
Feeding Waste into Creek
“We allege that this meat processing plant and at least four of its employees conspired to pump animal flesh, blood, and feces into a creek that flows to the ocean and a public beach,” said Principal Deputy Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The conduct alleged here sacrifices public health for economic gain, and it is a crime.”
“GBI repeatedly and intentionally violated the Clean Water Act by discharging untreated wastes into the Caribbean Sea at Tropical Beach in Naguabo,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Héctor Ramírez Carbó for the District of Puerto Rico.
“The defendants’ willfully disregarded the complete prohibition on discharges under the Clean Water Act and knowingly sent a disgusting sludge of animal blood and waste, and cleaning products into the Caribbean Sea, only miles from nature preserves, beaches, and a military base,” said Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Illegal discharges such as these cause serious harm, jeopardizing the safety and health of the water, wildlife, and human health.”
Starting in August 2018 and continuing through at least September 2025, GBI president Borges-Arroyo and GBI operator Borges-Gómez directed employees including, but not limited to, Delgado-Santos and Fulgencio-Cabrera to discharge liquid waste from GBI’s waste retention lagoon toward an adjacent creek, according to the indictment.
They did this by using a submersible pump placed in the waste retention lagoon and connected to a hose, attempting to avoid millions of dollars in annual waste removal costs, according to the indictment.
Multiple Waste Feeds
GBI generated waste from various on-site processes, including animal intake, slaughtering, hide removal, butchering, and cleaning. The waste included animal blood, hair, tissue, and feces, as well as grease, wastewater, disinfectant, and other liquids used inside the GBI slaughterhouse and processing areas.
The mixed waste flowed from the facility to a discharge pipe that emptied into a waste retention lagoon located on the southwest corner of the GBI property, according to the indictment. The western edge of the waste retention lagoon is adjacent to a creek which travels approximately half-a-mile to the Caribbean Sea at Tropical Beach in Naguabo, Puerto Rico.
GBI held a non-discharge wastewater treatment permit that required the company to haul liquid waste from the facility to a disposal facility. At no time was the company permitted to discharge on-site or to any other body of water. The permit expired on July 31, 2019, and they continued to violate the Clean Water Act until at least September 2025.
To conceal the illegal waste discharge, the defendants hid the submersible pump and hose when it was not being used and provided false and misleading statements and documents to authorities to hide the illegal activities, according to the indictment.
The defendants will appear in court before Magistrate Judge Héctor Ramos Vega of the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico for their respective initial appearances. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $250,000 in fines for each charge. GBI faces a maximum penalty of $500,000 in fines per charge.