Anne Arundel County Woman Convicted of Water Pollution in Harford County

BALTIMORE, MD ( October 13, 2010) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that Carmen Charlene Parson, 49, of Brooklyn, was convicted in the Circuit Court for Harford County of discharging a pollutant into waters of the State of Maryland.  The offense is a misdemeanor in violation of the State's Water Pollution Control laws.  Judge Stephen M. Waldron sentenced Parson to one year in the Harford County Detention Center with all but 90 days suspended, a fine of $5,000 and 100 hours of community service.  Judge Waldron also placed Parson on two years supervised probation.

The conviction resulted from Parson pumping wastewater containing a high level of fecal coliform from the basement of a foreclosed property in Aberdeen that she was hired to clean.  Parson pumped the contaminated wastewater into a storm drain that flows into the Bush River.  The discharge was reported by neighbors and continued throughout the day despite repeated efforts to halt the discharge by the Maryland Department of the Environment, Harford County Department of Public Works, and the Harford County Sheriff's Office. 

The conviction follows an investigation by the Environmental Crimes Unit of the Office of the Attorney General with the assistance of the Maryland Department of the Environment, Water Management Administration, the Harford County Department of Public Works, the Harford County Sheriff's Office and the Maryland State Police.