Amtrak Convicted of Sewage Dumping
A jury found Amtrak guilty Thursday of dumping raw sewage into Florida waterways in the national rail passenger line’s first such criminal trial.
The state filed charges of commercial littering after Amtrak refused to stop dumping raw human wastes from moving trains onto the tracks and into the St. Johns River and Rice Creek.
Amtrak contended that federal law exempts it from state pollution control laws. The dumping practice, dating back more than a century, has also come under fire in several Western states.
Amtrak has 20 days to file a motion for a new trial on the four littering convictions. Each count carries a maximum penalty of $5,000. A company attorney said Amtrak would appeal the decision.
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