Supporters of embattled Longview businessman Ray Caldwell have written letters to a federal judge, touting his good deeds and asking for leniency in Caldwells sentencing next week for 33 felonies related to illegal sewage dumping.

Suffice it to say that Ray is thought of as a community leader by me and many others, wrote John T. Claypool of Claypool Appraisal Service in his March 16 letter. It is inexplicable to me that he is in trouble for putting waste into a sewer line. In light of what he has done during his life for his family, acquaintances and community, any punishment should be minimal.

Caldwell, owner of All-Out Sewer & Drain, will be sentenced at 3 p.m. Monday at U.S. District Court in Tacoma. In December, Judge Benjamin Settle convicted Caldwell in December of all 33 counts he faced: 25 felony counts of violating the federal Clean Water Act, six counts of mail fraud and two counts of making false statements.

Caldwell, 60, was accused of pumping septic waste from his collection trucks into the city sewer system on 25 different dates last year to avoid disposal fees of 10 to 25 cents per gallon. He also is accused of underreporting by hundreds of thousands of gallons the amount of septage he collected from customers. For each Clean Water Act violation, Caldwell could face up to three years in prison, fines of $5,000 to $50,000 per day of violation and supervised release of up to one year.

Commercial septic tank pumper truck waste is highly concentrated, and so if it enters the regional wastewater plant through the sewer rather than being disposed of legally, the waste can overpower the plants treatment processes. Some of the waste also could pass through the plant, untreated, and be discharged into the river, where it could create dead zones that kill fish, the Three Rivers regional sewage treatment plant supervisor testified in Caldwells trial.

Caldwells attorneys from Hester Law Group of Tacoma argued in court documents filed Friday for a sentence of zero to six months for the Clean Water Act violations and eight to 14 months for the fraud counts. An appropriate fine would be $30,000, wrote the attorneys, who based their calculations on complex sentencing guidelines.

In addition to Claypool, six other community members wrote letters to the judge last month: Steve Jabush, vice-president of PNE Corp.; Don Cianci of Cs Photography; Arleen Hubble, executive director of the Go 4th Committee and a former Daily News advertising department employee; artist Joe M. Fischer; Dan W. Hiebert of Klein Trust; and Steve Bilger, Territory director for Oregon-Southwest Washington Young Life.

The letters generally describe Caldwell as honest, charitable, generous, hardworking, reliable and family oriented.

Claypool said Ray Caldwell and his wife, Joanne, had allowed him and other friends use of their cabin at Sequim for long weekends, and that Caldwell recently had granted easements to an 80-acre property to make it a wetlands reserve through Ducks Unlimited and the state Department of Fish & Wildlife. Other examples Claypool offered of Caldwells generosity: All Out Sewer & Drain had sponsored many local youth sports teams, and Caldwell, while president of Cowlitz County CrimeStoppers, had donated his time and money to the organization whenever needed.

Bilger said Caldwell generously contributed to Lower Columbia Young Life, a Christian outreach organization that focuses on adult leaders building mentor relationships with teens. Caldwell also provided office and meeting space for Young Life for seven years, Bilger stated in his undated letter.

More here:
Ray Caldwell backers urge judge to go easy on him

Yesterday at 6:32 PM The Maine Water & Sustainability Conference drew water resource professionals, engineers and environmental advocates to the Augusta Civic Center.

By Keith Edwards kedwards@centralmaine.com Staff Writer

AUGUSTA Sable, an 8-year-old shepherd mix adopted from an animal shelter, has a nose for sniffing out trouble.

click image to enlarge

CONFERENCE PARTICIPANTS: From left, David Hart, director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center, University of Maine; Mark Borsuk, associate professor of engineering at Dartmouth College; and Robert Kates, presidential professor of sustainability science at the University of Maine all participated Tuesday in a water sustainability conference in Augusta.

Contributed photo

click image to enlarge

DOG DETECTIVES: Environmental Canine Services trains dogs to sniff out human sewage in water where it doesnt belong.

Staff photo by Keith Edwards

Sables nose that knows has taken the dog and its handler, Scott Reynolds, co-owner of Environmental Canine Services, across the country, sniffing out human sewage in water where it doesnt belong. The dog is more efficient and effective than traditional, human-dependent methods, helping communities clean up their lakes, rivers and beaches.

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Sewage-sniffing dog, sustainability featured at Augusta conference

PIERRE A wastewater collection and treatment system project for the Lake Byron Watershed District will receive a $2.3 million financial package from the state.

Gov. Dennis Daugaard announced that the Board of Water and Natural Resources approved the funding during its meeting Thursday and Friday in Pierre.

It was among $41 million in grants and loans approved by the board for water and waste projects.

Other area projects were approved for Clark, Highmore and Turton.

The Lake Byron project includes a $500,000 Consolidated Water Facilities Construction program grant and a $1.8 million Clean Water State Revolving Fund program loan. The loan terms are 3.25 percent for 30 years.

This funding will help provide Lake Byron property owners with a centralized wastewater system that will improve Lake Byrons water quality, Daugaard said in a news release.

The project involves the construction of a centralized system utilizing a septic tank effluent pumping system to provide 176 connections to lakeside properties.

It will include a controlled discharge stabilization pond for wastewater treatment. The watershed district is seeking to eliminate individual sanitary sewer systems that are currently being used by lakeside properties.

Meanwhile, Clark will receive $1 million for a wastewater treatment facility. Highmore was awarded $673,000, which includes $225,000 for a Highway 47 water replacement project and $448,000 for a Highway 47 sanitary sewer replacement project.

Turton will receive $596,000 for wastewater treatment system improvements that includes a $334,000 grant and a $262,000 loan.

Read the original here:
Lake Byron, Clark, Highmore named to receive funds for projects

CHENNAI: Claims, campaigns and court orders have done little to stop the inhuman practice of manual scavenging that continues unabated despite being banned since 1993.

While the Supreme Court order on Thursday directing governments to identify and compensate victims of sewer line accidents since 1993 is expected to benefit the families of two workers, Murugan and Bhaskaran, who died in a septic tank at Ambattur in Chennai earlier this month, it is unlikely to change the situation.

The order is admitted to be a landmark judgment but does not seem to have done much to quell the anger of activists who say laws have been enacted in the past too but enforcement has been very poor. In Chennai, agencies such as the city corporation, Metrowater and Railways say that they do not employ manual scavengers.

The reality is different, say activists. "Open defecation spots and public latrines come directly under the corporation's control, while cleaning of manholes and drainage networks comes under Metrowater. Their contractors or engineers call private workers whenever there is a block and just pay them on a contract basis," says Deepti Sukumar of Safai Karmachari Andolan whose petition led to Thursday's SC order. "Every month at least 2 to 3 deaths are reported while several go unreported. Obviously no safety measures are taken," she adds.

Officials say workers don't wear gloves or shoes even if provided. The Prohibition of Employing As Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, makes it mandatory for rubber suits, oxygen masks and cylinders to be provided.

"The Act remains a non-starter; death, labour and human rights violations and rampant exploitation continues," says A Narayanan, an activist who moved the Madras high court and the Supreme Court leading to a ban on the practice in Tamil Nadu in 2008. "Metrowater spent crores buying machinery to clean sewage after the 2008 verdict," he says. "But just using machines won't help, solid waste management has to improve."

Many regular workers say they have stopped getting into manholes since the verdict. "We have been given machines to remove the waste so we work from outside now but private workers still get into drains," says Arumugam*, 30, a drainage cleaner with Metrowater.

"No one doing the job wants to do it. Septic tank cleaners and sewage workers get heavily drunk before they get in avoid the stench," says Samuel Velanganni, Tamil Nadu convener, Safai Karmachari Andolan.

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Manual scavenging: SC order a relief but may not end practice

City services Other news Helpful Links By Lori Kurtzman The Columbus Dispatch Saturday March 29, 2014 6:32 AM

The dream of crystal-clear drinking water is as close as its ever been for most residents of Leonard Park.

After decades of undrinkable tap water and unrealized plans to fix it, designs to hook the Mifflin Township neighborhood to Columbus water are nearly finished. The project will go out for construction bids in April, and work should begin in June, said Stephen Renner, director of Franklin Countys Department of Sanitary Engineering.

Residents should be able to connect to the system beginning in February, a few months later than initially expected.

Its been an interesting process, Renner said.

The well-water supply for Leonard Parks 120 homes all but dried up in the 1970s during the construction of I-270 and I-670. Residents have grown accustomed to frequent trips to the townships maintenance building, which has an outdoor spigot.

Columbus initially refused to extend waterlines to unincorporated areas such as Leonard Park unless they were annexed into the city. That changed in 2010, after the county forced an end to an annexation dispute between Columbus and the developer of the Hollywood Casino by rescinding sewer service to the casino site.

The city then agreed to grant exceptions to 23 neighborhoods, starting with Leonard Park.

But funding the project wasnt easy. Ultimately, in 2012, Mifflins trustees said the township would cover the design costs, which came to about $270,000; the county agreed to cover construction costs, estimated at more than $3 million, with grants and loans.

Because it was the first of its kind and because they wanted to get it right designs for the Leonard Park water project took longer than expected, Renner said. But that careful planning may make it easier for the neighborhoods that follow.

Continued here:
Leonard Park neighborhood moves closer to clean water

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.

The state of Florida is facing a lawsuit over unregulated septic systems near the Indian River Lagoon.

Investigative reporter Christopher Heath asked looked into the possible long-term dangers if Florida doesn't enforce its rules.

Derek Woodruff of Brownie's Septic & Plumbing is the last man most homeowners want to see standing in their front yard. That is, until something goes wrong.

"Sometimes you won't know you have a problem until you get some saturation or smell out in the yard," said Woodruff.

Woodruff showed Heath a septic system where roots found their way. Woodruff said it's unknown how much waste escaped before he and his crew arrived.

Without inspections there is no way to know if a septic system is about to fail, until it does.

"You got several thousand (septic systems) just in the city of Orlando that are failing every year and that's not counting the ones that are failed and not being repaired," said Mark Barhonovich of Brownie's Septic & Plumbing.

In 2010, the Florida Legislature mandated septic inspections to be performed every five years starting in 2016.

But, amid pressure from realtors, home builders and home owners, counties were given an opt-out. Every county has since, opted out.

The rest is here:
9 Investigates the effects of uninspected septic systems on the environment

The idea of a municipality or sewer authority using public money to facilitate repairs to broken and leaking privately owned sewer laterals isn't new, but it's one whose time has come, said state Rep. Harry Readshaw.

The Carrick Democrat, in Pittsburgh on Monday afternoon to chair Democratic Policy Committee hearing, said he has sponsored legislation to speed repairs to the leaky laterals for a decade, but approaching federal deadlines for reducing untreated sewage discharges into streams and rivers across the commonwealth now make action on House Bill 703 and 704 a priority.

The two bills would allow municipalities or public authorities to go onto private property to fix broken sewer laterals when the leaks cause damage to public property or pose a threat to public health, and make public funds available to pay for the work.

"There hasn't been a lot of opposition to this idea, and most people are for it. It's just been off the radar screen," Mr. Readshaw said of the bills that remain in committee and have not advanced for a vote. "Now, with federal consent decree deadlines approaching, the recognition of this issue is elevated. Now people are realizing that something must be done."

Mr. Readshaw said a state-administered funding program could be established -- he suggested starting with $5 million -- to provide low-interest loans or grants for low-income families to do the repairs, which can be expensive. The state operates a similar $5 million program to help fund privately owned septic system upgrades.

According to testimony at the hearing, broken and leaking laterals can cause sinkholes that buckle streets and sidewalks, and allow sewage to contaminate groundwater or pool on the surface in neighborhoods.

Broken laterals can also be inundated with inflow from groundwater and stormwater and channel it into public sewer collection pipes where it significantly increases the amount of flow and cost of sewage treatment. It also contributes to sewage overflows.

Jim Good, interim executive director of the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, said there are approximately 100,000 privately owned sewer laterals connecting to more than 1,200 miles of publicly owned sewer lines in the city and more than one-half of the laterals leak.

Because they are privately owned, the ability of the PWSA or Alcosan to fix the laterals is very limited, he said.

"But House Bill 704 would give us both the carrot and the stick," Mr. Good said, voicing his strong support. "The stick gives the PWSA the authority to go in and make repairs to private sewer laterals that are endangering public health or damaging public property, and then bill the property owner."

See the rest here:
State fund proposed for sewer line repairs

Holly Springs, N.C. A gas leak was reported at the intersection of Main Street and Holly Springs Road Wednesday afternoon.

A construction crew installing underground fiber optic cables struck what was believed to be an underground gas tank at around 2:20 p.m., resulting in gas being released, authorities said.

Two nearby businesses - a gas station and a Walgreens - were evacuated. Authorities believe the tank belongs to the gas station, where a leak alarm went off.

An underground tank should not have been where crews were digging, officials said.

Gas was not in the roadway but its odor was present throughout the area, authorities said.

We have checked all the storm drains, the water pipes and the septic and sewer that is in the area and we have no readings where it went, said Chief LeRoy Smith with Holly Springs Fire & Rescue. So we are not sure if it is leaking, where it went.

Readings at the gas station show it could have lost thousands of gallons of fuel, officials said.

Originally posted here:
Gas leak reported in Holly Springs

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. (WTVD) -- A major clean-up is underway after a massive gasoline leak at a gas station in Holly Springs.

It happened Wednesday at the Exxon on North Main Street and Holly Springs Road.

Click here for a Google map of the area.

A utility installation crew struck and ruptured an underground gasoline storage tank causing more than 6,000 gallons of fuel to leak about 10 to 12 feet underground. Crews managed to drain the tank.

Luckily, most of the gas that seeped out stayed right by the tank.

"We checked all the storm drains, the water pipes and septic and sewer," said Holly Springs Fire Chief Leroy Smith. "We have no reading of gasoline."

The Exxon and a nearby Walgreens have been closed due to the leak. Other nearby businesses have been adversely affected as well.

"We've been slow since about 2:30 in the afternoon," said Little Caesars' manager Donald Sill. "People aren't able to come in which is affecting the business, affecting labor, affecting everything going on right now."

Roads in the area were closed for about four hours.

A Holly Springs official says they anticipate only partial roads closures during the rest of the clean-up.

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Gasoline tank ruptured in Holly Springs, thousands of gallons leak

I just finished reading Maggy Hurchallas commentary on Wednesdays Op-Ed Page of The Palm Beach Post. I am not getting into a debate on HB 703. I have always said that our state Legislature rides the short bus. But Martin County continues to embarrass itself by blaming absolutely all of its environmental problems on Florida Crystals and the Fanjul family.

There are 270,000 septic tanks that drain into the Indian River Lagoon. It is safe to assume that Florida Crystals does not own one of them. The counties that border the Indian River Lagoon have all taken great steps in correcting their practices that have for decades had a detrimental effect on the lagoon. The glaring exception to this is Martin County. Their fallback position is, and always has been: Its Sugars fault!

Do they forget that it was Hurchalla that championed septic tanks over a centralized sewer system when she was on the Martin County Commission? The logic being it would control growth. Not very sound logic. The fact that Martin County and Hurchalla fail to accept any responsibility for the condition of the Indian River Lagoon is getting to the point of being comical.

All of their hollering and screaming that the state should clean up the Indian River Lagoon because it is a $4.5 billion economic engine to the area has not gone unnoticed by Tallahassee. I recently attended a meeting where a representative from the Areas of Critical State Concern in the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity laid the blame squarely on the 270,000 septic tanks within the lagoon drainage area. Their position was that, like Apalachicola Bay and the Florida Keys, the Indian River Lagoon is too valuable an asset to the state to leave it up to the five counties to fix the problem. Particularly when it was those five counties land use plans that contributed to the problem.

One solution is for the state to declare the Indian River Lagoon an Area of Critical Concern. This would focus all of the states resources on fixing the lagoon. This option was very successful in saving both the Florida Keys and Apalachicola Bay ecosystems from their septic tank issues.

Hurchalla and the other local officials are opposed to this because it requires them to step up to the plate and face the facts. The sticking point is it will put the state in the drivers seat. Maybe in this case not a bad thing.

J.P. SASSER

Pahokee

Editors note: J.P. Sasser is a former mayor of Pahokee.

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Point of View: Martin County still blaming Fanjuls, Big Sugar for all woes