Contact Us

Newsroom

All News Releases By Date

 

Ohio Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent Pleads Guilty

Release Date: 06/05/2003
Contact Information:


John Millett 202-564-7842/millett.john@epa.gov

(06/05/03) J. Kevin Vaughn, Superintendent of the Millersburg, Ohio, wastewater treatment plant, pled guilty on May 27, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio to making false statements to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA). The defendant admitted that between February 1998 and August 2000, he submitted 19 monitoring reports which contained 80 false statements concerning the amount of pollution discharged from the Millersburg treatment plant. Specifically, he falsified the amount of total suspended solids (TSS) and carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) being discharged into Killbuck Creek. Discharging higher than permitted amounts of CBOD and TSS from a wastewater treatment plant is harmful to fish and aquatic life and can make waters unsafe for recreation and drinking water uses. When sentenced, Vaughn faces a maximum possible sentence of up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation and the Ohio EPA. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Ohio.