HARRIS COUNTY — Two men face felony water-pollution charges after investigators said an unlicensed vehicle-repair operation repeatedly allowed oil and transmission fluid to contaminate soil and wash into Halls Bayou.
Elias Manuel Rodriguez Navarez, 44, and Jose Leonel Rebolloso, 30, were charged following an investigation by the Harris County Precinct 1 Constable’s Environmental Crimes Division, according to information released by Constable Alan Rosen’s office and reported Friday by FOX 26 Houston.
Authorities allege the men operated an illegal transmission-repair shop near Jensen Drive and the Eastex Freeway feeder road. Investigators said petroleum fluids saturated the ground and were then carried by rainwater into Halls Bayou, part of a major watershed that runs through north and northeast Houston.
The Environmental Crimes Division worked with the Aldine Management District on the investigation. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Precinct 1 asks residents to report illegal dumping, suspected water pollution and similar environmental offenses. Its Environmental Investigations office lists an illegal-dumping hotline at 832-927-1567.
