A federal grand jury indicted Harlem's director of Public Works on Wednesday, alleging he violated the Clean Water Act.
Daniel Webster Cason was indicted on 11 counts by the grand jury in Savannah, according to a news release from the Southern District of Georgia office of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The indictment charges Mr. Cason, who is responsible for operation of the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant, in a January 2004 pumping of a pollutant from the oxidation pond at the plant into nearby Euchee Creek and falsifying records and statements regarding plant measurements of fecal coliform and biochemical demand.
The indictment is a result of an investigation conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the FBI, according to the release.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Dan Drake did not immediately return a phone message Wednesday evening.
"The city will ... take the appropriate steps to segregate away from the Wastewater Treatment Plant the public works director until this investigation and procedures are completed," said Harlem Mayor Bobby Culpepper, according to an e-mail from city attorney Barry Fleming. "Prior to this incident, the public works director has been a good employee who was believed not to have intentionally taken missteps in the operation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant."
The alleged incidents occurred more than four years ago and the city has since spent more than $1 million to upgrade the facility.
If convicted, Mr. Cason faces three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the pumping charge and two years' confinement and a $250,000 fine on each of the false statement charges. No initial appearance or arraignment dates have been set, according to the release.
Reach Valerie Rowell at 868-1222, ext. 110 or valerie.rowell@augustachronicle.com.
Comments
What? Did Carson falsify records or did an employee? Was the falsification ordered or a result of poor training and incompetence? Was the poor operation the result of neglect or was the dumping intentional? This article if full of innuendo and politico-speak.
Perhaps not intentional misdeed, but coersing employees to help cover seems to be the story going around for 4 years. You never "really know" what's going on in a small town, do you?
I know Mr Cason personally, and find it hard to believe he would ever willingly do anything he knew to be wrong. Unfortunately, it looks as if he will be a scapegoat. He had bucked the system in this little town for a long time before he became the Dir. of PW. I really think the good old boys are letting him take the fall as payback. I know for a FACT, there are some old codgers there that run things behind the seen. They keep the town small, so they can control it. By this case being brought up, it stopped ALL growth, which is what they really wanted. If people looked hard into the dealings there, they could find a whole lot, of shady dealings.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ueEfRXZCVA .....please view Americans Freedoms being destroyed
marandan that's par for the course with these small towns in this area that's basically the same now as they were 40 years ago, i.e, Warrenton. They don't want anyone to come in and interupt their little "community" but they counties will sure make up for it with property taxes.
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