The country's largest retailer pleaded guilty to six counts of violating the Clean water Act. The retailer was found guilty and fined over 110 million dollars for the illegal disposing of fertilizer , bleach and pesticide compounds into the sewer system, among other environmental violations.
The U.S Justice system in 2013 also found the retailer guilty of violating the federal law by mixing pesticides together at a Missouri recycling facility, before reselling them in an illegal process, violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
The guilty charge ended years of court battles pitching the giant retailer against the U.S Environmental agencies over the company's illegal dumping. The suits were brought by the state of California after a San Diego County Health Department inspector found a Walmart employee dumping bleach into a sewer drain. In a separate instance, investigators found a young boy playing near a Walmart garden section in a pool of fertilizer that contained ammonium sulphate, a compound that caused a severe irritation on people's skin, respiratory tracts and the eyes.