GOTEC LLC Sentenced for Illegal Storage of Hazardous Waste

MENU News

• All News
• Blogs
• Photo Galleries
• Podcasts
• Press Releases
• Speeches
• Videos

Archived Press Releases

Archived News

Press Release

Auto Parts Manufacturer and General Manager Sentenced for Illegal Storage of Hazardous Waste

Friday, April 17, 2026

Share For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs GOTEC Plus Sun LLC (GOTEC), a Delaware company, pleaded guilty today to illegal storage of hazardous waste. GOTEC was sentenced to pay a $275,000 fine and to serve a one-year term of probation.

On March 30, the court sentenced Natalie Fehse, the former general manager of the GOTEC facility, to five years of probation, including a special condition of 10 months of home confinement, and a $5,000 fine for her role in the illegal storage of hazardous waste.

“The illegal accumulation and storage of hundreds of containers of hazardous waste at GOTEC posed a substantial danger to plant workers, emergency responders, and the general public,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This prosecution sends the message that hazardous waste generators must properly handle hazardous wastes or potentially face felony prosecution for their illegal conduct.

“Unpermitted storage of hazardous waste that endangers Kentuckians will not be tolerated,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Parman for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “I want to commend the collaborative efforts of the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection and EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division on the investigation of the illegal conduct of GOTEC and its General Manager, which averted a potential disaster.”

“Companies that cut corners by accumulating hazardous wastes — such the hundreds of drums of flammable and toxic solvents hidden around the site in this case — rather than disposing of them properly endanger communities, workers, and first responders,” said EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Jeffrey A. Hall. “Such dangerous neglect is precisely what the law forbids. This case demonstrates cooperative federalism in action. The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection’s inspection program found persistent, intentional violations of the law while EPA’s criminal investigative and forensic expertise ensured that the company was held criminally accountable.”

GOTEC produced parts for the use of manufacturing vehicles in Williamstown, Kentucky. As part of the production process, it applied coatings and adhesives to metal parts and generated hazardous waste, including spent solvents listed under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

RCRA establishes a comprehensive cradle-to-grave program to regulate the generation, transportation, treatment, and disposal of hazardous wastes to protect human health and the environment. It prohibits the storage of hazardous waste at industrial facilities for extended periods of time without a permit. According to court documents, on June 27, 2024, the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection conducted an inspection at GOTEC’s plant and discovered semi-trailers, shipping containers, and an abandoned warehouse containing 249, 55-gallon drums of hazardous waste and approximately 27 cubic yards of hazardous waste stored in cardboard, wooden crates, and yellow totes.

GOTEC admitted that between January 2022 and November 2024 it did not properly dispose of all the hazardous waste it was generating, including hazardous waste that had been accumulating at the facility since 2022. GOTEC admitted that it stopped properly disposing of hazardous due to staffing issues, and decreased revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, it improperly accumulated and stored hazardous waste at the facility without a RCRA hazardous waste storage permit.

EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Greenfield for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Senior Trial Attorney Matthew Morris of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

Updated April 17, 2026 Topic Environment Components Environment and Natural Resources Division ENRD - Environmental Crimes Section USAO - Kentucky, Eastern Press Release Number: 26-374

Related Content

Press Release Justice Department Clears Path for Resolution Copper Project in Arizona, Strengthening U.S. Resource Security The Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) has delivered a major win for mineral development and national security. On March 13, the Division’s Appellate Section secured a decision...

March 23, 2026

Press Release Ford Motor Company and Borough of Ringwood to Perform Final Cleanup Targeting Groundwater at Ringwood Mines/Landfill Site in New Jersey Ford Motor Company (Ford) and the Borough of Ringwood, New Jersey, have agreed to a consent decree with the United States under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability...

March 19, 2026

Press Release President Trump’s Justice Department & Transportation Department Sue to Stop California’s Illegal EV Mandate Attorney General Pamela Bondi and Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced that the Justice Department, on behalf of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), has filed suit to stop California from imposing an illegal electric vehicle (EV) mandate through what are effectively...

March 12, 2026