January 22, 2019
As the court case against one former Sioux City wastewater treatment plant worker begins, plant supervisors continue with new oversights and improvements aimed at preventing a repeat of the activities that resulted in numerous violations and potential state action against the city.
"I think we've got a lot of safeguards in place to keep people on their toes," city utilities director Mark Simms said.
Patrick Schwarte, a former shift supervisor, is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Sioux City to criminal charges connected to his role in an alleged conspiracy to manipulate water sample test results and use fraudulent testing procedures to ensure the plant's discharges into the Missouri River met federal guidelines.
