American Distillation Cape Fear River Pollution Case Ends in Guilty Plea
NAVASSA, N.C. — A North Carolina chemical company just got caught dead to rights.
American Distillation Inc. (ADI), a Navassa-based chemical processing company, has pleaded guilty to knowingly dumping toxic chemicals into the Cape Fear River, violating the federal Clean Water Act in a multi-year pollution scheme that prosecutors say was all about money over safety.
Federal officials say ADI deliberately released tert-Butyl alcohol (TBOH) and other dangerous industrial chemicals straight into one of North Carolina’s most critical waterways — and did it repeatedly.
The company’s owner, Andrew J. Simmons Jr., also pleaded guilty in the case — but for a separate crime: failing to pay federal taxes, according to the North Carolina Department of Justice.
This latest guilty plea follows an earlier one from Barry Darnell White, ADI’s former plant manager, who admitted to personally discharging pollutants into the Cape Fear River on behalf of the company.
Federal prosecutors made it clear: this was no accident.
“This was not an accident, and it was not a paperwork violation,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “ADI deliberately decided to dump harmful chemicals into a North Carolina river to increase profits.”
So what was going on?
Court records show ADI was incorporated in 1992 to manufacture industrial-grade ethyl alcohol. Over the years, the company accepted massive amounts of tert-Butyl alcohol, a highly flammable chemical considered hazardous industrial waste under federal law.
The problem is that ADI allegedly accepted more chemicals than it could legally process — and instead of slowing down or shutting down, prosecutors say the company chose to dump the excess into the river.
From late 2019 through 2024, ADI stored chemical wastewater in a massive 250,000-gallon tank known as “Tank 14.” That wastewater contained a toxic mix of TBOH, isopropyl alcohol, acetone, and water.
According to investigators, five to six times a year, about 2,500 gallons at a time were illegally released by connecting a hose from Tank 14 to a pipe that drained directly into the Cape Fear River.
State officials say company leadership allegedly warned employees that if operations stopped, ADI could face financial collapse — so the dumping continued.
“ADI released TBOH byproduct into the Cape Fear River to ensure maximum profits without ceasing operations,” the DOJ stated.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Beraka, with investigations led by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, EPA Office of Inspector General, and IRS Criminal Investigation.
EPA officials called the scheme “brazen.”
“This was a blatant violation of the Clean Water Act that endangered communities and defrauded regulators,” said EPA OIG Assistant Special Agent Keith Squires.
