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An employee of a Mississippi wastewater hauling company has admitted to supervising the illegal disposal of industrial waste into the Jackson sewer system amid the city's ongoing water crisis.
On Tuesday (October 18), William Roberts, an employee of Partridge-Sibley Industrial Services, pleaded guilty in federal court after admitting negligence in the improper disposal of industrial waste at a commercial entity in Jackson, per the Associated Press. The waste was trucked and hauled to a facility that wasn't a legal discharge point due to Roberts' negligence, 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 (EPA) criminal investigations division.
Jackson’s water and sewer system has had problems stemming from years of underinvestment. The city's infrastructure issues came to head in August as a water crisis left 150,000 residents, who are predominately Black, without safe drinking water for days.
The case was investigated by the EPA, local law enforcement officials, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Roberts is set to be sentenced on December 14, 2022.
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