Denis L. Feron

Denis Lucien Emile Feron (born March 22, 1928) is former owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Midwestern copper smelter, Chemetco. He was born in Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, Belgium.

Feron competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics and in the 1956 Winter Olympics in alpine skiing. In 1952 he finished 63rd in the downhill event, 73rd in the giant slalom competition, 46th in the slalom contest but was eliminated in the first run.

Four years later he finished 38th in the 1956 downhill event, 46th in the slalom competition, and 65th in the giant slalom contest.

His older brother Michel competed in the 1948 and 1952 Winter Games, also in alpine skiing.

On April 21, 1999, a federal grand jury charged Chemetco Inc., Feron, and five of his employees with violating the United States Clean Water Act for using an illegal secret discharge pipe to deliberately pump hazardous waste water contaminated with various pollutants and industrial waste including cadmium, lead and zinc into Long Lake (Illinois), a tributary of the Mississippi River. Those named in the indictment were: Chemetco President Denis L. Feron, Gary Reed, George Boud Jr., Roger Copeland, Kevin Youngman, and Chemetco plant manager Bruce Hendrickson. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2001, Chemetco produced about 50% of the United States copper output from non-mined sources

Closure of case

• The Court never acquired personal jurisdiction over Denis Feron.
• The Court did not find Feron guilty of any violation.
• The Court did not assess a fine against Feron, restrict his entry into the US or hold him to any other penalty in the case.
• However Feron paid $500,000 restitution to be expressly used to assist a USEPA environmental remediation program at and near the Chemetco plant site.
• On the Motion of the US District Attorney, all charges against Feron, without delay, were dismissed by the Court on February 22.
• The official Court records do not affirmatively recite that Feron is or was "guilty" of any crime.