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Missouri Septic Company Owner Sentenced for Illegal Discharge of Sewage into River Tributary
Release Date: 12/17/2003
Contact Information:
Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov
(12/17/03) David S. Coldewe of St. Charles, Mo., was sentenced to serve five months in prison, five months of home confinement, and pay $3,000 in fines on Dec. 2 for illegal discharge of sewage into water. Coldewe was the owner and operator of the Hueffmeier Septic Company, also known as C&H Septic. The defendant previously pleaded guilty to driving a septic truck containing sludge from St. Charles sewage to the Busch Wildlife area, and discharging its contents into a tributary of the Femme Osage River in April 2003. Neither the owner nor the company possessed a permit allowing discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States. Discharging sludge into surface waters can be harmful to fish and wildlife and can make the waters unsafe for drinking and recreational purposes. The case was investigated by the St. Louis Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and by the Missouri Department of Conservation. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St. Louis.
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