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Two Virginia Men Sentenced for Not Maintaining Wastewater Treatment Facility

Release Date: 10/31/2003
Contact Information:


Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov

(10/31/03) Alexander Lapteff and Kenneth Hinkley of Nokesville, Va., were sentenced on Oct. 24 for violating the Clean Water Act by improperly operating and maintaining of the Christchurch School wastewater treatment plant in Christchurch, Va. The defendants’ failure to run the facility caused it to discharge sludge and chlorine into a tributary of the Rappahannock River. Discharging chlorine and sludge into surface waters can harm fish and wildlife, and render the waters unsafe for drinking and recreation. Lapteff was sentenced to serve 36 months in prison, pay a $5,000 fine and serve one year of supervised release. Hinkley was sentenced to serve 11 months in prison, pay a $5,000 fine and serve one year of supervised release. Hinkley, who owned Analytech Inc., in Woodbridge, Va., will also surrender his Class 1 wastewater treatment operator’s licence, and has agreed not to own or operate any facility in the future. The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Richmond.