Contact Us

Newsroom

All News Releases By Date

 

Former Water Superintendent Pleads Guilty to False Statements and Illegal Wastewater Discharge

Release Date: 04/24/2003
Contact Information:


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

(04/24/03) On April 15, 2003 in the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, Fred Kirker, pled guilty to falsely reporting to the Ohio EPA the quality of wastewater and drinking water from the treatment plants in Mt. Orab, Ohio and also to discharging wastewater with illegal levels of fecal coliform into Snapping Turtle Run. Kirker was responsible for analyzing samples at the plants and submitting monthly reports to Ohio EPA. Laboratory records revealed that he covered up permit violations for fecal coliform, either by changing actual sample results or making up numbers for fictitious samples. After Kirker’s conduct was discovered, Mt. Orab closed its drinking water plant and bought water for its users. He faces up to eight years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 for false statements and up to as much as $50,000 per day for illegal discharges. The case was investigated by the Cleveland Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cincinnati.