Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet
State moves to take temporary control of treatment plants

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 20, 2006) - The Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet (EPPC) filed an emergency motion in Franklin Circuit Court today seeking appointment of a special master commissioner to temporarily take control of five wastewater treatment plants in Johnson County.

The package treatment plants are owned by Jeffery Lance Bowling through a business, East Kentucky Waste Control. Bowling has been the subject of a joint investigation by EPPC’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Bureau of Investigation.

The request filed today would give the special master commissioner the authority to collect fees from customers and secure the services of a licensed wastewater treatment plant operator to operate the Bowling facilities for a temporary period. The cabinet’s Division of Water (DOW) will ask the Public Service Commission to have a receiver appointed pursuant to KRS 278.021. DOW sought a warrant against Bowling in 2005 for alleged water treatment violations.

Inspections by DOW dating to 2004 revealed several facilities were discharging untreated sewage, presenting a health hazard. EPPC filed a complaint and a motion for a temporary injunction against Bowling in 2005. The Franklin Circuit Court, on July 26, 2005, ordered Bowling to hire a Kentucky licensed wastewater operator to run the five plants.

The five plants are Paradise Valley, Preston Estates, Richmond Hills, Neal Price and Burkeshire Development sewage treatment plants.