A former sewage treatment plant operator was sentenced to six months in federal prison for falsifying monitoring reports that hid failures to disinfect wastewater pumped into a tributary of the Hiwassee River.
Donald Jack Clark, 58, of Niota, Tenn., pleaded guilty to 12 counts of making false documents that were required by Niota and the U.S. Clean Water Act.
Clark, who had been a licensed wastewater treatment plant operator for 14 years, tried to cover up the fact that he didn't run properly the sewage treatment plant's chlorination system that would have disinfected water before it was discharged into Little North Mouse Creek.
"Clark potentially put others at risk for coming in contact with microbial organisms that could cause serious illnesses and diseases," said Bill Killian, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee. "This prosecution and sentence sends a clear message that those who would undermine our federal programs intended to protect human health and the environment by falsifying reports will be vigorously prosecuted."
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