JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) -- Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a lawsuit against a man on Friday for violations of the state's air conservation laws.
"We all have not only a moral obligation, but also a legal obligation, to serve as stewards of our environment," Koster said. "When people violate our laws by polluting the air and harming our quality of life, this office will not stand idly by."
Koster's lawsuit alleges that Jeffery Hill of Tracy, Mo., was found to be burning waste material, including electrical ballasts, on his property by the Tracy Police Department in March 2009. The Tracy Police Department then notified the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
The case was referred by the Department of Natural Resources to Koster in December 2009 after Hill failed to cooperate with the agency to come into compliance with air conservation laws.
Koster said that his office attempted to settle the matter out of court, but found Hill unresponsive to its queries.
The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against Hill requiring him to comply with the Missouri Air Conservation Law. The lawsuit also seeks to assess civil penalties not exceeding $10,000 per day for each violation of the law and payment of all court costs and reimbursements for the state for the cost of the investigation.