Attorneys for Steven M. Self, owner of the now-defunct Ekotek, an oil-recovery business, said they plan to file appeals despite the fact that Self was given the lightest possible sentence Friday after having been convicted earlier of environmental crimes.
U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Greene imposed a split sentence on Self, with six months spent in a California halfway house and six months of home confinement followed by five years probation. Self also must pay '$29,000 in restitution.Greene Allowed Self to remain free pending appeal.
Self's court case was the first criminal trial in Utah for environmental crimes. Prosecutors said the case was a trial balloon that would prompt them to strenuously seek convictions in similar cases.
However, Greene categorized one of the counts against Self as "shaky" and agreed with defense attorneys that Self appeared to have legitimate grounds for appeal.
"We are delighted by the comments of the judge and the sentence give by the judge," said defense attorney Dave Cundick.
Cundick said Self's lawyers will appeal all six counts against him, which include conspiracy to violate hazardous waste laws and a variety of outher hazardous waste law violations.
The "shaky" count in question is one involving the depth of Self's knowledge of 29 drums of allegedly hazardous waste material, Cundick said.
Greene ordered Self to serve time in a halfway house in San Diego but said he would agree to let Self be incarcereated in another halfway house in Escondido, Calif., which is closer to Self's home in Fallbrook, Calif.
Peter McGrath, assistant U.S. attorney general for Environmental Crimes, had no comment after the sentencing. However, during the court session he opposed allowing Self to remain free pending appeal "in light of the deferential, liberal nature of the court's sentence."
"I think it's time for the world and Utah to recognize the seriousness of environmental crimes," McGrath said, adding that he recommended that Self be imprisoned and pay restitution.
In May 1990, the federal government charged Self and his former business partner, Steven F. Miller, with 12 felony counts of violating federal environmental laws, including federal clean air and clean water acts.
A federal grand jury indicted Self on 12 charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and violations of environmental law.
The original charges against Self carried a potential maximum penalty of $24 million in fines and 45 years in prison.
At Self's trial in March, Green dismissed four counts against Self. The jury convicted Self of six counts and found him not guilty on two counts.
During the trial, Miller testified against Self, saying the two men repeatedly cut corners and broke laws because of "incredible economic pressure."
Miller testified that he and Self dumped water contaminated with oil and grease into the Salt Lake sewer system, poured acidic sludge on the ground, burned chemical solvents, and illegally received and stored hazardous waste.
Miller was sentenced to 120 days of home confinement and 1,000 hours of community service plus five years probation. Prosecutors said Miller got a light sentence because he pleaded guilty to charges against him and helped build a case against Self.