AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A central Texas distiller has pleaded no contest to polluting an Austin-area creek with production waste.
Fifth Generation Inc. entered its plea Friday and was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine. The maker of Tito's Handmade Vodka must also pay a neighboring landowner $11,728 for property damages and $1,120 to the state for sampling analysis.
Travis County Attorney David Escamilla tells the Austin American Statesman that the company could have been fined $100,000.
In September, prosecutors accused the business of illegally draining production waste into a creek. They say refuse from the distillery near Austin-Bergstrom International Airport violated state environmental quality laws and rules.
Company founder Bert Beveridge says employees would never have intentionally harmed the environment.
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Information from: Austin American Statesman
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