David Klepadlo, a Professional Engineer with decades of experience, was a licensed waste water treatment plant operator. He and his engineering company contracted with local municipalities in northeast Pennsylvania to operate and manage their waste water treatment plants. Between May 2012 and June 2014, the defendants failed to properly operate and maintain multiple facilities, by, among other things: failing to take daily and weekly discharge samples, generating reports containing falsified data, and submitting those reports to local and federal environmental officials. Klepadlo admitted to local and federal authorities that he did not need to do required daily sampling because it was a waste of time. Video surveillance over six months showed that the defendants failed to come to one plant for 116 days, but Klepadlo still submitted daily sample results for this plant.

The facilities identified in the indictment are the Greenfield Township Sewer Authority and the Benton/Nicholson Sewer Authority. Waste water from the Greenfield Publically Owned Treatment Works discharged into a tributary of Dundaff Creek, which flows into Tunkhannock Creek, and into the Susquehanna River. Waste water from the Benton/Nicholson facility entered a tributary of South Branch Tunkhannock Creek, which also flows into the Susquehanna. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection authorities confirmed both streams as fisheries habitat.

Klepadlo attempted to persuade his employee (a government witness) to fabricate a false explanation for the CWA violations. Cooperating with investigators, the employee recorded multiple conversations between himself and Klepadlo. The defendant advised his employee to tell investigators a retired state environmental inspector instructed them on the procedure they followed.

The original trial judge (who died early in 2020) issued an opinion that Section 2Q1.2 was the applicable guideline, rejecting Klepadlo’s arguments that Section 2Q1.3 applies in most if not all CWA cases. The trial attorneys extensively briefed this issue.

• Clean Water Act (CWA)
• Title 18 U.S. Criminal Code (TITLE 18)