‘Innocent until proven guilty:’ Commissioners uphold $10,000 landfill fine despite claims of illegal dumping
M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer
In a tense exchange that drew attention to the rigid, but seemingly necessary, nature of county environmental policies, the McKenzie County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to deny a fee waiver for a local business owner who claims his company was the victim of a “bad actor” and illegal dumping.
The debate centered on a $10,000 fine levied against Hydrus Energy Solutions after a bag of prohibited “filter socks,” which are highly regulated oilfield waste, was discovered in their dumpster at the county landfill on February 27. Ryan Thornock, President of Hydrus Energy, appeared before the board to contest the fine, arguing that his company does not use, rent, or dispose of filter pods or socks in its daily operations. Thornock, a resident and active community sponsor since 2014, suggested that a third party likely used their dumpster, which is only serviced every two to three months, to avoid disposal fees. “Our assumption is that these were disposed of in our garbage by a third party trying to get rid of them, just simply because we don’t own filter pods,” Thornock told the commission. “We’ve never touched or disposed of filter socks.” Thornock noted that while the facility has a camera system, the footage was too grainy and the three-week history was too short to identify the culprit. “In this country, we’re supposed to be innocent until proven guilty,” Thornock said. “And this is kind of different from that.”
For the full story, visit www.watfordcitynd.com and subscribe to the McKenzie County Farmer today!