BOZEMAN — Two Montana men who ran a now-defunct ammunition company have pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges over the dumping of lead-contaminated wastewater into the Bozeman sewer system.
The defendants are scheduled for separate sentencings in November before U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen.
Prosecutors will recommend that each man receives five years of probation and a $50,000 fine under a plea deal.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigators began a probe of the company’s waste disposal practices after a 2013 Department of Labor investigation into lead exposure of workers at the company.
The spent casings were sorted by individual caliber and cleaned, with the wastewater collected in 300-gallon containers.
The city’s pretreatment coordinator granted USA Brass limited authorization to discharge 10 to 25 gallons of lead wastewater into the sewer daily, The Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.
The company also didn’t filter the water.
Flanagan and Schimpf were in charge of day-to-day operations of the company, which had about 20 employees.
In 2014, USA Brass was sued by eight employees who said they were intentionally exposed to hazardous levels of lead at the business.
The lawsuit was dismissed in the spring of 2016 at the request of the company and plaintiffs.