Pemiscot County farm owner pleads guilty to dumping biodiesel waste into ditch

ST. LOUIS -- James Raulerson, owner of Raulerson Farms in Pemiscot County, Mo., pleaded guilty Thursday to violations of the Clean Water Act for dumping waste from a biodiesel plant into the local water supply, according to a press release from federal prosecutor Catherine Hanaway's office.

The incident occurred in October, when the Missouri Department of Conservation received an anonymous call that a tanker truck was seen dumping its contents into the Belle Fountain Ditch in Hermondale, Mo. State and federal investigators found decomposing glycerin in the ditch generated from Natural Biodiesel Plant LLC in Pemiscot County.

Estimates from the Missouri Department of Conservation put the number of fish and other aquatic life killed by the chemical dump at a minimum of 30,000.

Raulerson admitted to discharging glycerin, methanol and oil into the ditch. He now faces a penalty of up to three years in prison and fines up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 24 in Cape Girardeau.