I don’t think that’s too much to ask.
Two former employees of a wastewater testing lab in Conroe are facing federal conspiracy charges after authorities alleged they falsified test results to conceal high levels of feces and other contaminants released in local waterways.
For three years, Derek McCoy and Deena Higginbotham – former chief executive and client services director of the lab – conspired with a compliance coordinator at another company to alter official test reports filed with environmental officials, according to the indictment.
Compliance Coordinator John Montgomery is accused of flagging which wastewater treatment results lab leaders should fake through a “backdoor” in their testing system.
“When you cook the books in this way, when you falsify data, results and samples, you’re potentially putting the public at risk of coming into contact with water that is not treated to standards deemed safe,” said Julie Nahrgang, who leads the state’s professional associations for the wastewater treatment industry.
Nahrgang said she did not believe the industry was plagued with “widespread malfeasance.” But when individuals fake test results instead of fixing process issues, it can undermine public trust in wastewater treatment.
Lawyers for Higginbotham and Montgomery did not respond to requests for comment.
A lawyer representing McCoy, the former chief executive, pointed to the lab’s history of respected chemical analysis. He said McCoy resigned to preserve its integrity when he learned about the investigation, but still hopes for a favorable resolution.
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The allegations expose a potential vulnerability in how wastewater treatment is monitored. Environmental regulators often depend on labs and contractors hired by small water districts to report accurate test results. If the data is manipulated, communities may be misled about water quality, and problems in treatment systems can go unaddressed.
Kristen Schlemmer, senior legal director at local nonprofit Bayou City Waterkeeper, said that entities regulated under the federal Clean Water Act are given a lot of responsibility to manage their own compliance. They arrange testing, and share their own results with regulators.
“The Clean Water Act has been a powerful tool for cleaning waterways across the country since it was passed more than 50 years ago,” Schlemmer said, but “if the process can be corrupted, it makes you wonder about this permitting regime.”
She added that small municipal utility districts like many of those serviced by Montgomery, the compliance coordinator, have elected boards. But without the expertise to handle compliance themselves, they often contract with private companies who she said don’t have the same interests as elected community members.
I don’t have a particular point to make here, I just spotted this story and after being momentarily grossed out I thought it was worth highlighting. We like having clean water, y’all. Don’t screw that up.