Latest news with #Santich
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Owner of mustard company pleads guilty after shocking discovery at factory — here's what's happening
A New Hampshire mustard manufacturer and its president are facing serious consequences after admitting to illegally disposing of polluted water in a local waterway, reported WMUR 9. Old Dutch Mustard Co. and its president, Charles Santich, have pleaded guilty to federal charges for knowingly releasing contaminated water into the Souhegan River without proper permits. Court records show that back in 2015, Santich hired workers to install hidden pipes from the Greenville factory along an abandoned railroad bed leading to the river. He then directed staff to use these underground channels for waste disposal while instructing them to keep quiet about the operation. The unlawful activities continued until 2021, when state inspectors visited due to reports of excessive wastewater. They noticed a strong vinegar odor during their inspection and spotted water flowing through a man-made channel. When questioned, Santich claimed the smell came from "a failed attempt to grow mustard seed," prosecutors said. The company faces potential fines reaching tens of thousands of dollars, while Santich could spend up to three years behind bars. His sentencing is scheduled for June. When businesses dump untreated wastewater into rivers, they introduce harmful substances that can harm plants, animals, and humans who depend on those water sources. Clean waterways are foundational to healthy communities and ecosystems. The Souhegan River supports local wildlife and provides recreational opportunities for nearby residents. Contamination can damage these natural systems, harming fish populations and making the water unsafe for swimming or fishing. The Clean Water Act gives authorities tools to hold polluters accountable, as shown by the prosecution of Old Dutch Mustard and its president. You can help protect local waterways by reporting suspicious activities near rivers and streams to your state's environmental protection agency. Supporting companies with transparent waste management practices also makes a difference. Many manufacturers now use water-saving technologies and better filtration systems that reduce pollution while saving money. These innovations show that protecting our water and running a successful business can go hand-in-hand. Do you worry about the quality of the air inside your home? Yes — often Yes — but only sometimes Only when it's bad outside No — I never do Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Communities nationwide are also monitoring water quality through volunteer programs, creating early warning systems that help catch pollution before it causes lasting damage. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Boston Globe
26-02-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Mustard maker contaminated N.H. waterway with acidic liquid
Santich owns Old Dutch Mustard Co., which opened a mustard and vinegar manufacturing facility in Greenville, N.H., in 1972, according to Santich could not be reached by telephone or email for comment. But by the company's account, it has been in his family since his grandfather, an immigrant from Yugoslavia, purchased it in 1941, first operating it from a building in Brooklyn, N.Y. By 1984, the company had consolidated its operations in New Hampshire, where Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up But the company has a history of not following the Clean Water Act that goes all the way back to the 1980s, according to the plea agreement filed in the US District Court for the District of New Hampshire. In 2016, for example, the company was Advertisement Given past violations, starting in 2004 both the US Environmental Protection Agency and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services required close monitoring of a brook that flows underneath the facility and eventually into the Souhegan River. Used for recreation, the Souhegan River is also a tributary of the Merrimack River, which provides drinking water by cities including Nashua, N.H., and about Producing mustard and vinegar generates acidic wastewater, a pollutant that Old Dutch Mustard Co. was supposed to store in tanks and pay a company to haul to a separate treatment plant, the plea agreement said. Advertisement But in 2017, the company hired an excavation company to disconnect a buried water pipe from water tanks and extend it to an abandoned railroad bed, where wastewater and stormwater could be directed toward the Souhegan River, evading the monitoring systems environmental authorities had previously established, according to court filings. Santich told employees to pump wastewater through the pipe and not tell anyone about it, the plea agreement said. For several years, neither state nor federal federal authorities caught on. But in 2023, the vinegary-smelling water caught the attention of state inspectors from the Department of Environmental Services, who saw it flowing from the Old Dutch Mustard property into the Souhegan River. 'Santich, who was present at the NH DES inspection, attempted to explain away the obvious wastewater discharges at the top of the hill with the false representation that it was only a failed attempt to plant mustard seed there,' the plea agreement said. After discovering the pipe, federal authorities did a dye test showing the water from the pipe was ending up in the river. The penalties for the violation can include a maximum prison term of three years, a fine of up to $50,000 per day of violation or up to $250,000, and the court can also order Santich to pay restitution. Those consequences could be lowered since Santich took responsibility for the crime, according to the plea agreement. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23. This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Advertisement Amanda Gokee can be reached at
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Owner of Old Dutch Mustard Co. pleads guilty to knowingly polluting New Hampshire river
A New York man and Old Dutch Mustard Co., a mustard and vinegar manufacturing business, pleaded guilty in federal court to knowingly polluting a New Hampshire river, the U.S. Attorney said Monday. Charles Santich, 59, of New York, and Old Dutch Mustard Co. Inc. doing business as Pilgrim Foods Inc., pleaded guilty to knowingly discharging a pollutant -- acidic water into the Souhegan River -- without a permit, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay McCormack said in a statement. Santich is the president and owner of Old Dutch Mustard, a New York corporation with a manufacturing facility in Greenville, New Hampshire. U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty scheduled sentencing for June 23. The federal Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of any pollutant into navigable waters of the United States without a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit. Old Dutch Mustard Co. has 'a long history' of not complying with the federal law dating back to the 1980s, prosecutors said. The business has been subject to several enforcement actions by the Environmental Protection Agency, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office, McCormack said. As a result of these actions, the EPA and the state Department of Environmental Services 'have required continuous monitoring of an Unnamed Brook that flows underneath and in front of the facility, eventually flowing into the Souhegan River,' McCormack said. The Souhegan River is one of 19 rivers in New Hampshire rivers that the state has designated as an important natural resource. Old Dutch Mustard Co. manufactures vinegar and mustard products, which generates acidic wastewater, prosecutors said. 'Stormwater flows through the property, including an outdoor area where the company stores their product in large tanks,' McCormack said. 'Both the wastewater and stormwater at Old Dutch Mustard becomes acidic and is categorized as a pollutant under the CWA, and Old Dutch Mustard did not have the necessary permit to discharge the acidic wastewater or stormwater into the environment.' Instead, Old Dutch was required to store the polluted water in tanks and pay a trucking company to haul all the wastewater off-site to a publicly owned treatment plant, prosecutors said. Starting in the spring of 2015, Santich hired an excavation company to bury a pipe from the Old Dutch Mustard facility to discharge the acidic wastewater and stormwater in the general direction of the Souhegan River along an abandoned railroad bed, prosecutors said. This discharge point was downstream of, and not detectible by, the continuous environmental monitoring required by the EPA and the state of New Hampshire. 'Santich directed Old Dutch Mustard employees to repeatedly pump acidic wastewater and stormwater through the underground pipe to the abandoned railroad bed. Santich also directed employees not to tell anyone about the pipe,' McCormack said in his statement. In May 2023, state environmental inspectors 'discovered wastewater from the facility, with low pH and smelling of vinegar, flowing from a manmade ditch at the top of the hill on the Old Dutch Mustard property into the Souhegan River,' McCormack said. In August 2023, EPA agents executed a search warrant at the Old Dutch Mustard facility and saw liquid that smelled like vinegar discharging from the end of the underground pipe into the ditch, prosecutors said. The wastewater discharge had a low pH of 3.6. The agents then conducted a dye test. 'The dye discharged from the underground pipe at the top of the hill and flowed along the drainage ditch and down to the river,' McCormack said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
