Nevada man sentenced for illegally dumping grease waste into water treatment plants

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Nevada said in a news release that Matthew Thurman and his business Easy Rooter Plumbing were investigated by local regulators and later by the Environmental Protection Agency for illegal discharges into treatment plants.

The office said Thurman lied to federal agents and falsely blamed competitors for the discharges.

Thurman was sentenced for violating pretreatment standards under the Clean Water Act, and is also ordered to pay a $680,000 fine and serve one year of supervised release. Easy Rooter Plumbing was also separately sentenced to three years of probation and a $680,000 fine, the office said.

The office said that the “actions by Thurman and ERP jeopardized the integrity of the wastewater treatment system, creating significant environmental risks and increased maintenance costs which were passed on to consumers.”

“This case underscores the importance of holding individuals and corporations accountable when they knowingly harm our environment and attempt to obstruct justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, in a statement. “Violations of the Clean Water Act are serious crimes, and today’s sentencing sends a clear message that such conduct will not be tolerated.”

David M. Uhlmann, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement that Thurman “exposed Nevada communities to contaminated sewage, and engaged in conduct that required taxpayer dollars to be spent on costly repairs.”

“Today’s significant sentencing demonstrates that EPA will continue to bring to justice environmental criminals,” Uhlmann said.

Contact Taylor Lane at tlane@reviewjournal.com.