A Grand Junction man has been re-sentenced to two years in federal prison for dumping chemicals into the Colorado River.
David Enriquez Ortiz, 49, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Richard P. Matsch to pay a $2,000 fine, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office Colorado District.
Ortiz was originally indicted by a federal grand jury in 2003 and found guilty of knowingly and negligently discharging pollutants into the Colorado River in violation of the Clean Water Act, the release said.
Matsch originally sentenced Ortiz to serve 12 months in federal prison and pay a $2,000 fine. Ortiz appealed the conviction, which was ultimately dismissed because he fled authorities.
Ortiz was apprehended by authorities and re-sentenced on Friday.
In May and June of 2002 Ortiz dumped industrial waste water containing propylene glycol into a storm sewer, which drained to the Colorado River. The discharged pollutants killed a substantial number of fish, and resulted in an emergency environmental cleanup response, the attorney general’s office said.
On Friday Ortiz remanded into custody to start serving his sentence immediately.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
