A former member of the city council in Sioux City has been charged with unlawful storage and transportation of hazardous waste.
Forty-four-year-old Aaron Rockester of Sioux City owed a business called Recycletronics. Federal prosecutors say from mid-2015 through this past July, Rochester stored the leaded glass and cathode ray tubes from TVs and computers at various facilities around the Sioux City area.
The EPA classifies cathode ray tubes as hazardous because they contain lead.
Rochester appeared in federal court Tuesday and was released on bond. If convicted, he faces a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison as well as significant fines.
At the beginning of this year, the state filed a lawsuit against Rochester for filing false toxic waste disposal reports with the state. That lawsuit in state court also sought repayment of a $75,000 state loan to Rochester’s business.
(By Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City)