Michigan: company director on trial for chemical spill in Flint River

Rajinder Singh Minhas, director of Lockart Chemical, is heading to trial in Genesee County, Michigan, after a chemical spill in the Flint River. Lockhart manufactures rust-preventative additives for metalworking. According to local authorities, in June 2022 15,000 gallons of an oil-chemical mixture was released from the company’s facility into the Flint River, contaminating over 20 miles of its course. Chemical fingerprinting analysis confirmed that the contaminating mixture in the river matched the material leaving Lockhart’s plant. Therefore, Attorney General Dana Nessel has put Minhas on trial on several felony charges, including falsely altering a public record and discharge of injurious substance into state waters. If convicted, Minhas risks several years in prison.
The Lockhart Chemical director is also facing minor violations of Michigan’s liquid industrial waste law for allegedly discharging industrial by-products, violating reporting requirements following a discharge, and violating provisions related to the storage, disposal, protection, and discharge prevention of liquid industrial waste. A pretrial date has not yet been set.