United States v. Plaza Health Laboratories, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
3 F.3d 643 (1993)
Relevant factsFree
Geronimo Villegas (defendant), co-owner of a Brooklyn blood-testing lab, dumped roughly 70 vials of human blood into the Hudson River on at least two occasions. He was charged with knowingly discharging pollutants from a "point source" without a permit and knowingly discharging pollutants into navigable water, in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA). The jury convicted him on all four counts, but the court entered a judgment of acquittal on the two "point source" counts; both sides appealed.
IssueFree
Whether, under the Clean Water Act, a human being is a "point source" from which a discharge of a pollutant into navigable water would result in a violation of the statute.