Owner of NH mustard company sentenced to prison, fined for polluting Souhegan River
The sentencing comes after Santich and his company pleaded guilty in Feb. 2025 to knowingly discharging a pollutant and not using a allow, violating the Clean Water Act.
Neither Santich nor a consultant from his company may very well be instantly reached for remark. Attorneys representing Santich and his company didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Old Dutch Mustard Co., which manufactures mustard and vinegar in Greenville, NH close to the Souhegan River, had a protracted historical past of not complying with the Clean Water Act, starting within the Nineteen Eighties, in accordance to courtroom paperwork.
That led to enforcement motion from federal and state environmental authorities. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the US Environmental Protection Agency required the company to repeatedly monitor a stream that flows beneath the ability.
But Santich and his company tried to deliberately evade that monitoring, in accordance to courtroom paperwork.
“Throughout years of repeated civil and administrative attempts to encourage Santich and his company to follow the law, Santich lied to state and federal authorities and even purposefully built the illegal infrastructure needed to pump his manufacturing waste into New Hampshire’s waterways, pushing his employees to help him violate the law,” Creegan stated in a press release.
She stated the air pollution left waterways with fewer fish and impacted householders and individuals who recreate on the river.
“As the result of this years-long scheme of intentional misconduct and deceit, a criminal sanction is necessary to protect the public,” she stated.
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella stated the case represents “a deliberate effort to violate environmental laws and evade detection, putting one of New Hampshire’s valued waterways at risk.”
“Protecting our rivers is a top priority, and our office will continue to pursue all appropriate actions to ensure compliance and safeguard New Hampshire’s water quality,” he stated.
Santich informed his staff to pump acidic wastewater and stormwater via and underground pipe main to the Souhegan River, so he may save on transport prices, in accordance to Creegan.
His staff stated Santich would hearth them if they didn’t comply with his orders, in accordance to courtroom paperwork. Creegan stated Santich hid the crime by submitting false paperwork to federal regulators and obstructing the EPA’s efforts to get hold of information about how he disposed of wastewater.
The air pollution from Santich and his company possible contributed to a mercury fish consumption advisory, an EPA toxicologist testified on the sentencing.
State inspectors from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services discovered wastewater from the ability that smelled of vinegar flowing into the Souhegan River in May 2023. Santich lied to the inspectors, and informed them the scent was brought on by a failed try to plant mustard seed. Inspectors discovered Santich’s secret discharge pipe in August 2023 thanks to a search warrant.
Amanda Gokee may be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.
