California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
Roger D. Mann, an employee of HS Aqua, LLC, in Ventura County has been arrested for allegedly filing fraudulent laboratory reports to the State Water Board. The State Water Resource Control Board’s (SWRCB) Division of Drinking Water, in collaboration with the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office issued felony and misdemeanor charge against Mann. He was arrested on Aug. 23 and arraigned on Wednesday in Ventura County Superior Court.
According to a SWRCB investigation, Mann submitted three falsified lab reports to the Division of Drinking Water in July 2015. Mann fabricated the false bacteriological monitoring reports for public water systems in the Sequoia National Forest and used a laboratory’s letterhead when submitting the results.
The laboratory, accredited by the Division of Drinking Water’s Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, was not part of Mann’s fabrication of the false reports. The laboratory fully cooperated with the state’s investigation.
“Environmental laboratory accreditation provides a benchmark for performance, technical capability and confidence in laboratory data reports for California regulatory agencies making critical environmental and public health decisions,” said Christine Sotelo, chief of the Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program. “Community trust in water delivered by the water provider is severely damaged by falsification of water quality information. We support actions taken like this one to maintain the credibility of data and uphold the high degree of integrity and excellence in the environmental laboratory industry.”
The investigation of and charges against Mann represent the first criminal enforcement action the Division of Drinking Water has undertaken since it became a part of the State Water Board in July 2014. Previously the Division has been a part of the California Department of Public Health. The Division of Drinking Water regulates public water systems; oversees water recycling projects; permits water treatment devices; supports and promotes water system security; and performs a number of other water safety and security functions.
The complaint, as filed with the Ventura County Superior Court, can be seen on the Stte Water Board’s Office of Enforcement website at: http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/enforcement/docs/9216_mann_fc.pdf
