Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MIAMI – Today, a Florida woman pled guilty in federal district court to violating the Clean Water Act by knowingly discharging a harmful quantity of oil into United States and contiguous zone waters.
According to court documents and statements made at today’s hearing, Liza R. Hash, 48, of Inglis, Fla. owned and operated the S/V JULIET, an 88-foot, 118 gross ton, steel-hulled sailing vessel built in 1974. For approximately six years, Hash operated the vessel between Miami and the Bahamas, on multi-day scuba diving excursions. She carried as many as 12 passengers per trip plus crew.
On June 16, 2023, Investigating Officers (CGIOs) from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Miami boarded the S/V JULIET upon its return from a trip to the Bahamas. After noticing an active oil sheen originating from the vessel, they conducted a safety examination.
During the examination, the CGIOs noted oily water in the vessel’s bilge and an electric submersible pump in the space beneath the main diesel engine. The pump was connected to the vessel’s grey water tank, which was arranged to be discharged overboard without treatment. The Defendant admitted that she would use the bilge pump to transfer oil-contaminated bilge waste first into the grey water tank. Then, she would use the grey water tank’s separate discharge pump to empty the untreated contents into U.S. waters. The grey water tank was neither designed nor intended to handle oily bilge wastes, but rather to hold liquids from the vessel’s washer, dryer, sinks, showers, and air conditioning unit.
Calculations performed by the CGIOs revealed that over the preceding five years of operation, approximately 26,000 gallons of oily water would have been illegally discharged from the S/V JULIET. Such wastes should have been held on board for proper pump-out and disposal at a shore-side facility.
United States District Judge Rodolfo A. Ruiz, II, set sentencing in the case for May 21, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. The defendant faces up to three years’ imprisonment, followed by up to three years of supervised release. In addition, the court may impose a fine of up to $250,000.
Hayden P. O’Byrne, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Kristopher Martel, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal enforcement program in Florida, announced the guilty plea.
United States Attorney O’Byrne commended the efforts of the United States Coast Guard Sector Miami Investigating Officers, the Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald is prosecuting the case.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 25-cr-20007.
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