Pa. man charged with illegal dumping

February 10, 2012 at 4:15p.m.

WAYNESBURG, Pa. — The former owner of a southwestern Pennsylvania wastewater firm plead guilty to dumping millions of gallons of water containing natural gas drilling wastewater, sewage sludge and restaurant grease into streams and mine shafts in a six-county area.

Robert Allan Shipman, 50, of New Freeport, which is about 70 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, also pleaded guilty to theft for taking money from his customers, who believed their waste was being properly disposed, The Observer-Reporter of Washington, Pa. reported Friday.

As part of Shipman’s guilty plea in Greene County, he has sold his interest in Allan’s Waste Water Services Inc., and will pay a $100,000 fine and a $25,000 nondeductible donation to an environmental group.