Wastewater Firm Charged With Violating Clean Water Act
GARY, Ind. (STMW) - The former contract operator of a northwest Indiana wastewater treatment plant and two of its employees were charged Wednesday with violating the federal Clean Water Act.
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United Water Services Inc. and employees Dwain L. Bowie and Gregory A. Ciaccio have been charged with manipulating daily wastewater sampling in Gary by turning up disinfectant treatment levels shortly before sampling, then turning them down after sampling, a release from the U.S. Dept. of Justice said.
United Water Services entered into a 10-year contract to operate the Gary Sanitary District wastewater treatment works in 1998 at a cost of $9 million annually, the release said. The contract was renewed in May 2008.
United Water handled the operation and maintenance of the treatment works, and was responsible for environmental compliance. To ensure compliance with the discharge permit, it was required to take periodic wastewater samples, including a daily sample to determine the concentration of E. coli bacteria.
According to the indictment, the defendants tampered with E. coli monitoring by turning up levels of disinfectant dosing prior to sampling. They would avoid taking samples until disinfectants had reached elevated levels, which in turn led to reduced E. coli levels. Immediately after sampling, the indictment alleges, the defendants turned down disinfectant levels, reducing the amount of treatment chemicals they used.
Bowie was United's project manager in Gary, while Ciaccio joined Bowie's staff in July 2003, and eventually was made plant superintendent in charge of day-to-day operations.
The Clean Water Act makes it a felony to tamper with required monitoring methods at a permitted facility. If convicted, Bowie and Ciaccio face up to five years in prison on the conspiracy count and two years on each of the Clean Water Act counts, as well as a criminal fine of up to $250,000 for each count. The company may also face fines and/or probation.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
