Weekly Flush: Illegal Pumper Ignores Warnings, Now Faces Two Years in Prison

Also in this week's septic-related news, a couple in Ontario fights to save their septic system after a town crew pumps floodwater onto their property; and an update about the woman whose septic tank was found below the dining room floor

Weekly Flush: Illegal Pumper Ignores Warnings, Now Faces Two Years in Prison

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Another day, another under-the-table septic pumping operation. A man from Tahlequah, Oklahoma, is accused of five misdemeanor counts of pumping septic tanks without a license, along with felony counts of engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses and engaging in transactions involving unlawful proceeds.

The charges came after an investigation by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality’s Criminal Investigation Unit discovered the man, Mainlan Sellers, had operated for months without a license despite a number of verbal and written warnings.

Sellers could spend two years in prison for the felony charges and faces tens of thousands of dollars in fines. He can't say they didn't warn him.


Meanwhile, a couple in Eganville, Ontario, has been pumping their yard of floodwater for the past year in an effort to save their septic system, thanks to a decision by town leaders more than a year ago.

It started last May, when a storm brought flooding to areas of the town and crews pumped that excess water through a culvert onto the couple’s private property. As their property filled with water all the way up to the septic bed, the couple called the town and asked them to help. Crews then dug a new drainage ditch, but the couple asserts that the ditch has somehow only made matters worse this past year.

“Every time there’s a melt, every time there’s a rainfall, our property is flooding,” Laurie Bennett tells CBC News. “I’m not sure why, but since that ditch has come into play, our property no longer drains. So we’re pumping water.”

It’s a nightmare scenario for the homeowners, and you can see some photos of their flooded property here.


The Ottawa Citizen recently published a longer update story about Janet St-Pierre — the woman whose pre-purchase home inspection failed to point out her septic tank was located under the floor of her dining room.

She’s still trying to find someone to take responsibility for what happened but has been left high and dry. “Every day I wake up in my home — my home that I’m supposed to enjoy and care about — and it stinks,” she tells the Ottawa Citizen. “And some days it stinks more than others. There are days when, honestly, I just want to pack up and leave because it’s unhealthy.”

Honestly, we feel pretty bad for this lady. The newspaper posted a video interview with St-Pierre too, which you can watch below.



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