Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane Wednesday announced the filing of criminal charges against a man accused of improperly storing hazardous waste at his York County business.

Jessie L. Kline, 61, 1711 Manor Road, Windsor, is charged with one count of management of hazardous waste and four counts of unlawful conduct under the Solid Waste Management Act.

Kline is the owner of Salvage Management Inc., located at 1900 Manor Road, Lower Windsor Township. According to a criminal complaint, the Office of Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Unit started its investigation of Kline and his business after receiving a referral from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

DEP officials asserted a "history" of problems with Salvage Management Inc., which included the illegal storage of solid waste, unpermitted piles of thousands of tires and contaminated soil. The investigation revealed Kline never obtained a permit from the state to process, store, treat or dispose of solid waste at his business, investigators allege.

Kline's alleged conduct resulted in a compliance order in 2004 and a subsequent consent order and agreement, which was filed in 2009 and amended a year later.

Despite those filings, several inspections of the business allegedly showed the site was relatively unchanged, with piles of tires and drums of unknown materials stored in box trailers. The drums contained various substances showing the characteristics of hazardous waste, investigators allege.

DEP officials in July 2014 issued an order that in part required the removal of all waste from Kline's business within three months. An inspection conducted in October of that year allegedly showed little had been done to comply with the order.

An arrest warrant was obtained Tuesday for Kline. The hazardous waste charge filed against Kline is a second-degree felony punishable by a fine of up to $100,000 per day and/or imprisonment between two and 10 years. The maximum penalties for the other charges are one year in prison for each count and a fine up to $25,000 per day during the alleged violations.

The case will be prosecuted by Deputy Attorney General Rebecca Franz of the Office of Attorney General's Criminal Prosecutions Section.

The Attorney General’s Office noted a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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