La. man gets fine, jail time for wastewater discharges

Oct. 26 -- A 57-year-old Louisiana man was sentenced to 36 months in jail and fined $80,000 after he was convicted on 15 felony charges that he knowingly violated the state´s Water Control Law.

Joseph L. Jones of St. Landry Parish was president and chairman of the board of Plaisance Development Corporation, a sewage treatment company responsible for operating and maintaining six sewage treatment facilities. The company was also ordered to pay a $150,000 fine.

In February 2010, Jones was arrested and charged with causing or allowing unpermitted water discharges, not taking water samples, not submitting water discharge monitoring results and failing to provide proper operation and maintaining for six facilities.

A jury convicted Jones on all 15 charges, and Judge Thomas Fuselier recently sentenced him for the crimes. In addition to prison time and the fine, Jones is barred from being associated with wastewater treatment operations in future employment.

"Blatant disregard for the health and safety of the citizens of Louisiana through gross pollution of our waterways cannot be tolerated," said Trent Brignac, district attorney, in a statement. "Hopefully, the guilty verdicts will send the message that violations of the Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System are taken seriously and will be prosecuted."

Contact Waste & Recycling News reporter Jeremy Carroll at jcarroll@crain.com or 313-446-6780.

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