The Environmental Protection Agency is asking for prison time of up to 75 years for an environmental manager of a coke plant who is charged with helping his company illegally release air toxic emissions and dispose of hazardous wastes.

A federal grand jury has returned a 15-count criminal indictment against Mark Kamholz, and his New York employer, Tonawanda Coke Corp., for criminal violations of the Clean Air Act, the hazardous waste law and obstruction of justice.

Kamholz also faces a criminal fine that could reach $550,000. The company faces over $1 million in criminal penalties.

The government charged Kamholz with criminal violations of the Clean Air Act for his role in releasing toxic benzene emissions and hiding this from EPA investigators.  He’s accused of:

• hiding a pressure relief valve that spewed the benzene vapors into the air
• directing an employee not to tell EPA inspectors about the illegal valve and emissions release, and
• operating equipment without required pollution controls.

Kamholz is also alleged to have directed employees to dispose of benzene- and mercury-containing hazardous wastes on the ground and storing some of the waste in an abandoned rail car on the company’s property.

The obstruction of justice charges allege that Kamholz directed workers not to tell EPA inspectors about the relief valve or that the company was operating even when its pollution control equipment was turned off.