Published in the Asbury Park Press
STAFF REPORT
TRENTON — Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and Division of Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that two former managers for United Water Toms River Inc. were indicted today for manipulating a water source during water quality testing in order to conceal the actual level of contaminants in the drinking water they supplied.
According to Director Paw, George Flegal, 56, of Jackson, who was general manager for United Water Toms River, and Richard Ottens Jr., 52, of New Egypt, who was operations manager, were each indicted on two counts of tampering with public records, a third-degree crime, and two counts of falsifying records, a fourth-degree crime, in connection with two reports based on the false testing that were submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection. United Water Toms River is a regulated utility serving about 50,000 customers.
The state grand jury indictment alleges that Flegal and Ottens agreed to shut down one of three wells that led to the point of entry for the utility’s drinking water distribution system on Sept. 12, 2005 during a scheduled compliance sampling for radionuclides, naturally occurring radiation that can be hazardous at high levels. The men allegedly were concerned that high levels in the one well would cause the system to exceed maximum contaminant levels for radionuclides during the sampling at the plant in Berkeley. The water system had previously exceeded the maximum contaminant level for radionuclides.
Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/15/06
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