Cengage Advantage Books: Foundations of the Legal Environment of Business 2nd Edition by Marianne Jennings, Albert Napier, Marianne Jennings

Exercise 2

Kelley Technical Coatings is an industrial paint manufacturing company that operates two plants in Louisville, Kentucky. Arthur Sumner was the vice president in charge of manufacturing operations for Kelley. Sumner oversaw the manufacturing process at both plants, including the storage and disposal of hazardous wastes. He was also responsible for environmental regulatory compliance.
Kelley generated hazardous wastes in its manufacturing process, including paint sludge as well as paint ingredients that contained, among other things, toxic heavy metals such as chromium, lead, cadmium, and nickel. Kelley accumulated hundreds of drums of these waste materials and stored them in drums behind one of its plants. Kelley never applied for a permit to store or dispose of its hazardous wastes on-site.
Between 1986 and 1989, Sumner had arranged for a licensed hazardous waste disposal company to remove and dispose of some of the drums containing hazardous wastes. From late 1989 to July 1992, however, no drums of hazardous waste were shipped off-site. Instead, in an effort to save money, Kelley contracted with a hazardous waste disposal company to come on-site and drain the liquids from the drums. After the bulk of the hazardous wastes were drained off, employees were directed to pour off any rainwater that had collected in the drums onto the ground and to consolidate the remaining residue into one drum. The consolidation process resulted in the spilling of hazardous substances onto the ground.
Both Kelley and Sumner were convicted under the RCRA. They appealed their convictions on the grounds that they did not have the mens rea required for conviction under the RCRA statute. Are they correct? Are they criminally responsible? [U.S. v. Kelley Technical Coatings, Inc., 157 F.3d 432 (C.A. 6th 1998).]