Raymond Sawyer

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Raymond Sawyer and his company, MagnaGro International, Inc., were charged with "unlawfully discharging waste from a fertilizer manufacturing operation into the city of Lawrence’s sewer system." For this, he and his company were charged with "criminal violations of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which is also known as the Clean Water Act." MagnaGro International, Inc. "formulates chemical fertilizers for resale across the nation."

Clean Water Act Violation

According to the indictment:

• "Sawyer operated MagnoGro International., Inc., at 600 E. 22nd Street in Lawrence."
• "In 2001, Sawyer and MagnaGro discharged a large quantity of industrial waste into the Lawrence sewer system, interfering with the system’s operation. As a result, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the city of Lawrence told Sawyer not to discharge more material into the city’s sewer system."
• "On Sept. 17, 2007, agents from the federal Environmental Protection Agency - Criminal Investigation Division served a search warrant at MagnaGro. They determined that Sawyer was discharging waste from MagnaGro’s fertilizer production directly into the city’s sewer system. Sawyer had been pumping water from a waste pit surrounding the fertilizer mixing vat. The waste was pumped through a hose and into a toilet stool at the MagnaGro facility."

When Sawyer and MagnaGro were found discharging waste in September 2007, they were doing so via a hose inserted into a toilet stool. Investigators determined they had done so for 10 years.

The Environmental Protection Agency - Criminal Investigation Division worked on the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ray Bosch were the prosecutors. Sawyer faced up to three years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The company could have also been fined up to $500,000.

In 2009, Sawyer pled guilty "to a misdemeanor of negligent discharge into a publicly owned wastewater treatment works program. MagnaGro pleaded guilty to knowingly discharging waste from a fertilizer operation into the city’s sewer system in March 2001." "For ten years, Sawyer and the company discharged waste into the sewer system via a hose attached to a waste pit." For this, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson sentenced Sawyer to five years of probation in June 2009. He and his company were required to pay a $240,000 fine ($120,000 for Sawyer; $120,000 for the company).

Following the 2007 discovery of the illegal dumping, the city shut down the company's water and sewer services. As of April 2010, the services still had not been reinstated because the company fails to meet city codes.

For more information on this case, contact:

• Jim Cross
• U.S. Department of Justice
• District of Kansas
• Ph: 316-269-6481
• Fax: 316-269-6420

2008 Chemical Spill

"In January 2008, Lawrence fire and medical crews responded to an accidental spill at the site. According to the fire and medical department, employees of the company apparently were transferring a chemical, a plant growth activator called Phypogroxtra, from one tank to another when a leaky valve led to the spill. The chemical was washed into the street, where a passerby spotted it and reported it to authorities."

2009 Chemical Spill

Sawyer and his company were also implicated in a later incident in October 2009, leaking a tanker of 200 to 250 gallons of "a liquid concentrated fertilizer product" at a warehouse in east Lawrence, KS. The fertilizer-like product leaked from the tanker truck into a nearby ditch.

2010 Deaths at MagnaGro Plant

A 2010 accident at MagnaGro's plant left two employees dead after they fell in a tank containing an unknown substance and were overcome by fumes. A third worker as well as a firefighter who responded to the emergency were also treated for injuries but survived.

Following the deaths, OSHA investigated the company.

Contact Information

• Magna Gro International, Inc.,
• 600 E. 22nd Street
• Lawrence, KS

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• biosolids
• Sewage sludge
• Food Rights Network

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