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Septic Hauler Pleads Guilty to Illegal Dumping in Virginia

Release Date: 5/15/2001
Contact Information: Donna Heron (215)-814-5113

Contact: Donna Heron (215)-814-5113

PHILADELPHIA – A Virginia man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to discharging raw sewage into a tributary of the Potomac River and discharging pollutants into the Prince William County sanitary sewer system.

Ricky Ray Aits, field superintendent for AITS Septic Service, Inc. of Manassas, Va., pleaded guilty in the Eastern District Court of Virginia in Alexandria to a two-count criminal Information charging him with violating the federal Clean Water Act.

Aits will be sentenced on Aug. 17. According to the federal sentencing guidelines, the maximum penalty for each count is three years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

The investigation into the disposal practices of AITS Septic Service began on May 2, 2000, when students and administrators at the Osborne Park High School, Manassas, Va., detected the strong odor of raw sewage near the soccer field during a game. Eyewitnesses observed an AITS septic truck apparently discharging into a storm sewer located in the school’s parking lot. A school surveillance camera also recorded the incident on video tape.

The sewage discharged by AITS ran through the parking lot storm sewer to a nearby creek, which is a tributary of the Potomac River. A subsequent cleanup was conducted under the supervision of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The criminal investigation later revealed that Ricky Aits had illegally discharged raw sewage and other pollutants at this unpermitted location, and others including a sanitary sewer manhole located behind the IKEA store at Potomac Mills Mall, and a sanitary sewer manhole located behind the Shoppers Food Warehouse at Maplewood Shopping Center, Manassas, Va.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Erickson prosecuted the case, with assistance from Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Fisher, of EPA Region III. The convictions resulted from an investigation conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal investigation division in Arlington, Va, the FBI’s Washington field office, and the Prince William County Police Department.

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