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GEORGIA FUNERAL HOME VIOLATES CLEAN WATER ACT
Release Date: 01/15/99
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 1999
GEORGIA FUNERAL HOME VIOLATES CLEAN WATER ACT
W.L. Wilson and Sons Inc., which operates the Wilson Funeral Home in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., pleaded guilty on Jan. 7, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta to violating the Clean Water Act. The defendant admitted to discharging wastewater which contained formaldehyde, embalming and body fluids, and human waste into the funeral home’s septic tank drain lines. The wastewater flowed from the lines through cracks in an embankment into a drainage ditch and a culvert that empty into Black Branch Creek which is a tributary of the Chicamauga Creek, and ultimately into the Tennessee River. Formaldehyde and human wastes are potential causes of a variety of diseases in humans and can also be harmful to aquatic life. When sentenced, the defendant faces a maximum fine of up to $500,000. The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, the FBI, and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
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