FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENR

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1997 DOJ (202) 514-2008

EPA (787) 729-6951
EPA (212) 637-3669
TDD (202) 514-1888

WARNER-LAMBERT PLEADS GUILTY TO ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES

WILL PAY $3.6 MILLION IN PENALTIES

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Pharmaceutical manufacturer Warner-Lambert

Inc. today pled guilty and will pay a $3 million criminal fine for
falsifying reports on the levels of pollutants it was releasing
into a drainage channel that feeds the Cibuco River from its
wastewater treatment plant in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico. The company
also will pay a $670,000 civil penalty for routinely releasing
excessive levels of pollutants between 1992 and 1995, violating its
wastewater discharge permit 347 times. The plant supervisor, Juan
Ruiz Orengo, also pled guilty today to similar charges.

Warner-Lambert Inc. was charged in U.S. District Court in Hato

Rey with six counts of violating the federal Clean Water Act. The
Act requires the plant to comply with discharge limits on the
amounts of pollutants that may be released in the plant's
wastewater.

"We will not tolerate this kind of reckless disregard for the
waters of our nation's states and commonwealths," said Lois
Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Justice
Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
"Environmental criminals must be punished because the people and
the environment of Puerto Rico deserve better."

"Polluting and lying about it are serious offenses. EPA will

continue to use all of its tools--including criminal prosecution--
to aggressively pursue those who pollute our water and endanger
public health and the environment," said Steven A. Herman,
Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

"Warner-Lambert blatantly violated federal law, but the good

news is that facility is now in compliance and seems to have
changed its corporate attitude towards environmental law," said
Jeanne M. Fox, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 2
Administrator. "With today's guilty pleas and the filing of the
consent agreement, the people of Puerto Rico can rest assured that
the company is paying for what it did and will not let something
like this happen again. There's a strong message here for any
other facilities that might feel that they can pollute our waters
with impunity."
 United States Attorney Guillermo Gil stated: "This case is
another example of the priority given to environmental cases by our
Office. Any company or individual that threatens our environment
will be dealt with severely."

Ruiz was responsible for collecting and analyzing wastewater

samples for 34 different pollutants including fecal coliform,
metals, oil and grease. Ruiz routinely falsified reports to show
that pollution limits for several pollutants had not been exceeded,
when in fact they had. Between January 1990 through the end of
1992, every report contained false information about the quality of
the water the Warner-Lambert plant was releasing into the drainage
channel. Ruiz could be sentenced to up to 27 months in jail.

The civil settlement also was filed today by the United States
Department of Justice in U.S. District Court in Hato Rey on behalf
of the Environmental Protection Agency.

The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection

Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
###
97-396