Lockhart Chemical Leader Faces Trial for 2022 Flint River Spill

Rajinder Singh Minhas, president, treasurer, and director of Lockhart Chemical Company, is set to stand trial on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from a 2022 chemical spill in the Flint River. Approximately 15,000 gallons of an oil-chemical mixture were released from the company's facility, confirmed by chemical fingerprinting analysis. Charges include felony counts of falsely altering a public record, uttering a false public record, substantial endangerment to the public, and discharge of injurious substance to waters of the state, alongside numerous misdemeanor violations related to air pollution control and hazardous waste statutes. The spill, traced to a tank valve leak in an underground tunnel at Lockhart Chemical, raised serious environmental and public health concerns. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel emphasized that such violations endangering residents and the environment are intolerable and acknowledged the collaborative efforts of various state and local agencies in advancing the case. Minhas faces potential incarceration, fines, and liability for corrective actions, though a trial date has yet to be set.