LAWRENCE COUNTY OIL WELL OPERATOR HIT WITH FEDERAL INDICTMENT FOR VIOLATING CLEAN WATER ACT
ENVIRONMENTAL CASE BASED ON DUMPING OF WASTE WATER IN BLAINE CREEK BACK IN LATE SUMMER 2025
JANUARY 17, 2026 – written by WADE QUEEN
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A Lawrence County, Kentucky oil well operator has been indicted by a federal grand jury in an environmental case for a violation of the Clean Water Act.
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Joshua Ferguson, of Martha, KY., is charged with one felony count of the charge in an indictment handed down in U.S. federal court on Thursday, January 15. The indictment alleges Joshua Ferguson dumped brine water from oil production into the Left Fork of Blaine Creek on September 3, 2025.
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If convicted on the indictment charge, Joshua Ferguson faces a sentence of up to three years in prison and a fine between $5,000 and $50,000 for each day of violation.
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A federal judge has ordered him to appear in U.S. District Court in Ashland, KY., on Thursday, February 12, to answer to the indictment charge.
