NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
Monday, December 16, 2013
INCIDENTS
Mount Rainier NP
Former Employee Found Guilty Of Clean Water Act Violation
On December 9th, former NPS employee J.B. was found guilty at trial on a felony violation of the Clean Water Act.
While working as the Paradise wastewater treatment plant operator on August 27, 2011, J.B. intentionally bypassed part of the treatment process. He then left the plant for his three days off and failed to notify anyone of the bypass. As a result, approximately 180,000 gallons of minimally treated sewage were discharged, much of it eventually reaching the Nisqually River.
The cleanup and monitoring involved several park divisions, an NPS Public Health Service officer, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The investigation was led by EPA's Criminal Investigations Division and the NPS Investigative Services Branch and included park staff. In 2012, J.B. pleaded guilty to a lesser charge but withdrew that plea before sentencing and exercised his constitutional right to a trial.
Additional details are available in the HYPERLINK "http://www.justice.gov/usao/waw/press/2012/September/barber.html" text of a press release issued in September by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
[Investigative Services Branch]
Cuyahoga Valley NP
Body Found In Park Under Highway Bridge
Two fishermen found the body of a 53-year-old man from Broadview Heights on park property by the railroad tracks near Station Road in Brecksville early on the morning of Monday, December 9th.
Rangers arrived on scene shortly after the discovery. It appeared that the man had jumped from the Route 82 Bridge.
Law Enforcement Specialist Carl Dyer is leading the investigation, which is being conducted in conjunction with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office.
[Chris Ryan, Chief Ranger]
OTHER NEWS
The following stories are among those in today's InsideNPS. To see the full text, NPS employees should go to the InsideNPS home page ( HYPERLINK "http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index" http://inside.nps.gov/index.cfm?handler=index). Non-NPS employees can see most of them on the Morning Report web page ( HYPERLINK "http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/" http://www.nps.gov/morningreport/):
Steamtown NHS - Harold H. “Kip” Hagen Jr., 62, superintendent of Steamtown National Historic Site, passed away suddenly from a heart attack this past Saturday, December 14th, at his home in Tafton, Pennsylvania.
Cabrillo NM - Cabrillo National Monument celebrated its 100th anniversary during the first weekend in December with a commemorative ceremony and special events.
Office of Legislative and Congressional Affairs - This week's update on past and upcoming hearings, newly introduced bills, and the status of legislation of interest to the National Park Service. This report covers activities in Congress for the week ending December 13th.
Statue of Liberty NM - David Luchsinger, whose 36 years in the National Park Service began as a WG-1 seasonal maintenance employee, retires this month as the superintendent of Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island.
State of the Parks Program - Steve Fancy, formerly the Servicewide inventory and monitoring program leader and now coordinator of the new NPS State of the Park program, will retire on January 10th after 30 years with the Department of Interior.
Great Smoky Mountains NP - Pedro Ramos, currently the superintendent at Big Cypress, has been selected as the acting superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains. He will serve for 90 days, beginning on January 12th.
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The Morning Report is produced by the Office of Communications with the support of the Office of the Associate Director for Information Resources. Edited by Bill Halainen ( HYPERLINK "mailto:Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov" Bill_Halainen@contractor.nps.gov).
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