Worker Admits Dumping Raw Waste Into Jackson Water System

JACKSON, Miss (AP) — An employee of a Mississippi wastewater hauling company pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday for his part in illegally discharging industrial waste into the capital city’s sewer system.

William Roberts, an employee of Partridge-Sibley Industrial Services, admitted to supervising the improper disposal of industrial waste at a commercial entity in Jackson. As a result of Roberts’s negligence, the waste was trucked and hauled to a facility that was not a legal discharge point designated to receive the waste, federal prosecutors said.

“The defendant’s negligent conduct contributed to the discharge of millions of gallons of untreated industrial waste into the Jackson water system,” said Chuck Carfagno, a special agent for the Environmental Protection Agency’s criminal investigations division.

Jackson’s water and sewer system has been beset by troubles dating back years. The water system was recently engulfed in a crisis that forced people in the city of 150,000 to go days without running water in late August and early September.

In addition to the EPA and local law enforcement officials, the case was also investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation .

An attorney for Roberts did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He will be sentenced on December 14, 2022.