By Amy Cherry
Daily Press Staff

    Operators of the Jay Township Municipal Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant were waived to court during a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Donald Wilhelm in St. Marys on Monday afternoon on charges of falsifying reports in regards to the operation of the plant including monitoring the impact of the sewage treatment plant on local waterways.

The state’s Attorney General’s office filed criminal charges against John R. Forster, 49, of 155 Church St. Penfield and Donald A. Rucinski, 55, of 4987 Gardner Hill Rd., Weedville. Both defendants were preliminarily arraigned on Thurs., July 3, before Judge Wilhelm, during which time they were released on $5,000 bail.

    Attorney General Tom Corbett announced on Aug. 1 that Forster is charged with four counts of unsworn falsifications to

authorities, four counts of tampering with public records and two counts of unlawful conduct under Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law. Rucinski is charged with two counts of unsworn falsifications to authorities, two counts of tampering with public records and one count of unlawful conduct under Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law.

    While Rucinski served as main operator of the Jay Twp. plant in Elk County,  Forster served as Jay Twp.’s back up operator and main operator of the Huston Twp. Sewer Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant in Clearfield County.

    Paul A. Zimmerer, supervisory special agent of the Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation Environmental Crimes Section along with Special Agent William F. Brown investigated the case based upon a referral from the PA Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP alleged that false data was being reported on Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMR’s) for both the Huston and Jay Twp. plants.

    As part of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued by the DEP, operators are required to submit monthly DMR’s and monitoring reports to the DEP. These reports summarize the results of influent and effluent volumes, weather and effluent sampling. DEP inspectors utilize the data to monitor the effectiveness of the plant and its effect on water of the Commonwealth.

    According to the criminal complaint, Forster and Rucinski submitted 1,497 falsified test results on monthly reports between January 2006 and October 2007.

    Tom Brown, DEP Waste Water Treatment Specialist, conducted inspections of both plants as well as the onsite lab in Jay Twp. in Sept. 2007.

    Brown reviewed purchase receipts for the lab from 2003 to Nov. 2007 and determined that only half of the supplies needed to analyze samples for total suspended solids (TSS) were purchased and only 25 percent of the supplies to test for biological oxygen demand (BOD) were purchased by the lab.

    On March 7, 2008 Kip Starks, DEP Water Quality Specialist, stated that his observations at both plants did not coincide with data reported to the DEP. Starks had Brown review the plants data.

    Brown interviewed Forster on May 20 and June 11, 2008. After clarifying the job positions of himself and Rucinski, Forster said they were both certified by the DEP to operate sewage treatment plants and were aware of NPDES permits and sampling parameters. Forster noted that he also served as a Chairman of the Jay Twp. Municipal Authority.

    Forster claimed he was responsible for collecting and analyzing fecal coliform samples at the Jay Twp. plant while Rucisnki was responsible for collecting and analyzing all other samples, all of which were analyzed on site at the plant’s lab. He explained that he used both sets of data to compile the monthly DMR’s.

    Forster also admitted that after operating the Jay Twp. plant for several years, he determined they were operating properly and decided that analyzing samples did not accomplish anything. Consequently, he began to report false data to the DEP.

    According to Corbett, DEP inspectors determined that nearly every result for fecal coliform conducted at the lab was false. Those test results are used to determine if the plant’s discharge has been potentially contaminated by human waste.