The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has entered into a plea agreement before Judge Paula Humphries of the 36th District Court to resolve criminal charges filed against Adnan Moussa Nassar for three counts of underground storage tank violations. Nassar had allegedly failed to provide proof of financial responsibility, failed to provide written notification of the removal of underground storage tanks, and failed to properly close the underground storage tanks as required by law at a vacant location in the Detroit area. The investigation was conducted by the Department of Environmental Quality and prosecuted by Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Davis.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Nassar pled guilty to all three charges, which were subsequently dismissed upon payment of $5,000 investigative recovery costs to the state, $200 in court costs, and $75 to the Wayne County Environmental Fund. As a result of the investigation, Nassar removed the underground storage tanks. Each of the counts carries a maximum fine of $500 and/or not more than six months in jail.

An owner of a petroleum underground storage tank system is required to permanently close the system when it has been temporarily closed for more than 12 months and must provide evidence of financial responsibility, in the form of insurance, to ensure that corrective actions are implemented to clean up a release of petroleum if the owner is liable for the release.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised December 2, 2008 by Pat Watson