S.L. refinery to pay $3 million in fines

The owner of a Salt Lake gold- and silver-refining facility will have to pay $3 million in fines for violating the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Johnson Matthey Inc. failed to properly report wastewater discharges at the refinery in 1999 and 2000, screening samples for selenium, a chemical that is toxic in large quantities, before sending the samples to an outside laboratory for analysis, officials said.

The corporation and federal prosecutors reached a plea agreement Wednesday, the same day two of the refinery's former managers were sentenced for making false statements.

Johnson Matthey will have to pay the fines after pleading guilty to violating the Clean Water Act.