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KAYSVILLE, Utah (AP) -- A furniture restorer has indicted on charges of dumping paint-stripping chemicals down the drain.
A federal grand jury indicted Jay Bert Atwater and his Kaysville company, Heritage Restoration, on three counts of violating the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Solid Waste Disposal Act.
The grand jury accused Heritage Restoration of letting tainted rinse water drain into a pipe that emptied its contents just 18 inches underground, soaking the surrounding soil. The rinse water was contaminated with methylene chloride products.
Atwater told the Standard-Examiner of Ogden he didn't do it. He said tests by an independent company found no methylene chloride in his disposal water, and that no harm was done.
"There is also involvement of disgruntled employees, which I'm learning is how most of these situations happen," Atwater told the newspaper.
He was summoned to appear Nov. 4 before U.S. Magistrate David Nuffer. ------ Information from: Standard-Examiner
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
