LAKEPORT ? The Lake County District Attorney filed charges against a Lakeport man Feb. 11 for allegedly working on septic systems without a permit and repeatedly discharging sewage into yards in Lake County.
Dennis Ralph Lawson is charged with misdemeanor working without a required permit, discharging sewage onto the ground and discharging hazardous substances onto the ground. The maximum total penalty for the violations is a $2,000 fine and/or two years in jail.
Lawson allegedly worked on septic systems from February 2009 to July 2009 in Lake County with his business, Eagle Mechanical, without a permit and violated Lake County and California penal code.
The Lake County Environmental Health Department forwarded the repeated violations to the District Attorney”s Office detailing Lawson causing inconvenience to his clients and potential threat to their health and welfare, and that of their neighbors.
“The District Attorney”s Office takes the violation of our county code very seriously, particularly when it affects the environment of our county and the health and welfare of our residents,” District Attorney Jon Hopkins said. “This case presents an especially egregious situation in that the defendant is accused of draining partially-treated sewage effluent onto the yards of his clients and his clients” neighbors, some of whom had small children and animals. Contractors must adhere to the rules and regulations governing their profession just as individuals must follow the law.”
Circuit prosecutor and deputy district attorney Matthew Carr, who prosecutes workplace-safety and environmental violations arising in Lake and other counties, will take the case for the county.
