A former supervisor with the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority is charged in federal court with violating the Clean Water Act.

The case against James Paprocki, 51, of Ross is the third federal criminal case to be filed relative to the release of sludge into the Allegheny River over a period of seven years.

He was charged by a criminal information on Friday by the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Typically, when charges are filed via information, it indicates a defendant is cooperating and likely to plead guilty.

Another supervisor with PWSA, Glenn Lijewski, was charged by indictment with three counts in November. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

PWSA pleaded guilty to one count of violating its pollutant discharge permit and one count of making false statements in written reports about that discharge in January.

The agency will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV on July 8. As part of its agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office, PWSA will pay $500,000 into a self-funded compliance program that the federal government will monitor.

In addition, the water and sewer authority will spend three years on probation and must submit annual reports and audits to both the Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency.

PWSA also may not raise its rates to pay the fine.

On Monday, Paprocki’s attorney, Ryan Smith, said he had no comment.

“Directing the discharge of pollutants into western Pennsylvania’s rivers is unacceptable and violates federal environmental law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman. “Our office will continue to work with EPA and other state and local environmental regulators to hold offenders accountable and protect the environment.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Paprocki worked as a supervisor at PWSA’s drinking water plant in Aspinwall. At various times between 2010 and 2017, the information said, he directed employees to discharge clarifier sludge into the Allegheny River. That act, the prosecutors said, is a violation of the agency’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination permit.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, clarifier sludge is generated when raw water is converted into potable drinking water.

Under the permit, the sludge was required to be sent to ALCOSAN’s treatment facility — at a rate of up to 1 million gallons per day.

Under the permit, PWSA was required to report the daily volume of sludge and install flow meters at the Aspinwall plant.

However, according to federal investigators, a numbe of the flow meters stopped working, and Paprocki and other employees began to estimate the amount of sludge being sent to ALCOSAN.

“The filing of these new charges in this investigation shows that EPA will hold responsible those who violate environmental regulations designed to ensure that our communities have safe drinking water,” said Jennifer Lynn, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s Criminal Enforcement Program in Pennsylvania

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)