"Environmental damage won't be tolerated," Frosh says Marie J. Marius, a resident of Laurel, Delaware, pleaded guilty last week to misdemeanor charges of water pollution and the improper alteration of a sewage system at a home she owns with her husband on Bi-State Boulevard in Delmar. She must pay $12,000 to the Maryland Clean Water Fund and perform 75 hours of community service. She will also be on probation for three years, Retired Judge John L. Norton ordered during sentencing in Wicomico County District Court.
"When people willfully and knowingly take steps that harm our environment, we will not tolerate it," Frosh said. "This was an egregious case, and I am glad that justice was served."
The case stemmed from a complaint lodged by tenants who moved into the house in 2013. In February 2013, the tenants contacted the owners -- Marie Marius and her husband, Darnell -- to tell them that sewage was backing up into sinks and the bathroom tub, the toilet wouldn't flush, and that strong odors were permeating the house.
The Mariuses then hired a worker to install a discharge pipe from the failing sewer system into a wooded area of the backyard, which is adjacent to Wood Creek. The pipe allowed sewage to flow into the creek, which is a tributary of the Wicomico River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The tenants told Wicomico County health officials that Marie Marius came to the property to monitor the work being done, as well as to provide payment to for the installation.
After pleading guilty, Marie Marius was sentenced to pay a $35,000, with $23,000 suspended, meaning she must pay $12,000 immediately. She also received a six-month jail sentence, which was suspended.
The contractor, Charles Elzey, has been charged with two counts of water pollution and 11 counts of installing or altering a sewage system without a permit, and the case is scheduled for trial in Wicomico County Circuit District Court in February.
The illegal system was in place for several months. The septic system has since been repaired and the environmental damage cleaned under the direction and supervision of the Wicomico County Health Department.
Frosh thanked the Attorney General's Environmental Crimes Unit, including Assistant Attorney General Michelle Barnes and unit investigator Bill Schmidt, who worked with the Wicomico County Health Department on the case.
"Our team and Wicomico County did a great job enforcing the laws that protect our environment," Frosh said. "Damage like this just cannot be allowed to take place.
11 comments:
What a SCUMBAG
Too many people make that unavoidable,because intentional releases are the only methods of dealing with inadequate systems.
To bad the same thought process does not extend to major corporations who are destroying our planet faster than anyone of us could.
8:43 Well, this lady wasn't giving here politicians cash kickbacks, so she had to feel the pain!
Too bad it doesn't extend to the very Government that held her accountable!
just a thought here, you do realize that 5 years ago before the new septic drain fields were required by Annapolis you could install a relatively inexpensive septic system. now you must install the state mandated system which has nitrogen removal systems with filters, etc. requiring electric service etc. so before we had a system that lasted for years that did its job and was affordable. now we don't so when your system fails you are forced to dish out $15k. some people cannot afford it. now I am not sure if this is the case here but notice all of the comments that makes this person out to be a despicable human being. funny how that works. thanks folks for becoming mind numb robots. but I guess that is what we have become
did you know that animals outnumber humans by nearly a billion to 1? did you know that virtually all those animals defication OUTDOORS? Did you know that chemicals we use to "break-down" human waste are more harmful than the waste itself?
by the way, who gets the money for this?
The Government.
Grants are available thru the state for failing systems.
8:35 Yes this politically incorrect lady should be HANGED. And Bloggerhater 1 that includes ALL THE CRITTERS!
When are going to stop the GLOBAL WARMING, ARGGHHHHhhh....
Al Gore
Oh my, imagine what they will do to a town when their treatment plant overflows.
So you are politicizing the use of septic systems? Would you be happy if we all relieved ourselves in chamber pots and dumped them outside our back doors?
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