A Neeses septic tank service owner has been found guilty of four counts of causing or permitting pollution of the environment after his trucks were observed dumping sewage at unauthorized locations.

Victor M. Williams, 49, of 448 Dragstrip Rd., Neeses, was sentenced Wednesday in Orangeburg County General Sessions Court to two years and $10,000, suspended to $3,000 and five years probation on each count. The sentences are to run consecutively.

Circuit Court Judge Howard P. King, who presided over the case, stipulated that if Williams pays his fines early, his probation can be terminated after two years. The case was prosecuted by attorneys with the S.C. Attorney General’s Office.

Williams is the owner of Williams Plumbing and Septic Tank Service, also known as Orangeburg Septic Tank Service. His trucks were observed illegally dumping raw sewage at unauthorized locations on four occasions.

During the day and a half of testimony, one witness, Charles Hudson, said he observed one of Williams’ trucks dumping sewage in the woods along Dragstrip Road.

“I was coming home from work (on Feb. 20, 2004) and noticed the truck in the woods,” Hudson said. “The truck was backed up in the woods dumping sewage. I went past it and turned around. By time I got back, he was finished dumping it and pulling out.

“I followed him and he parked the truck at Williams Plumbing and Septic Tank Service. I had seen the truck at Williams Septic Tank Service. It had a white cab with a smiley face on it (Williams’ trademark on all his trucks).”

Hudson said he went back to the location where he saw the truck in the woods, which he described as about a quarter of a mile past Slab Landing Road. He said he saw the puddles of raw sewage that had recently been dumped there. He went home and told his wife to report the incident to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Lewis Rourk, a wastewater evaluator with DHEC at the time, testified that he went out and inspected the reported site, determined that septic waste had indeed been dumped there and took pictures of the site.

Williams was charged with another case of polluting the environment on March 5, 2004, at the Double Branch Hunt Club. That incident was witnessed by William Edward Baughman, a member of the hunt club.

“I was out scouting the area with another member of the club when we saw a truck with a smiley face in the woods,” Baughman said. “We heard the pump going, so we knew he was dumping.”

Baughman stopped the driver of the truck and asked him why he was dumping sewage on the site.

“He told us he was doing what his boss told him to do ...” and he had permission, Baughman said. “We knew he was dumping because as he pulled off, we could see the sewage still coming from the hose.

“When we went to the site, the stench almost took your breath away,” Baughman said. “And the sight of all that raw sewage with tampons, toilet paper, condoms, you name it, was sickening.”

When Baughman reported the incident, DHEC called in its own investigator, Richard Devors, who determined that Williams or his employees had indeed been dumping sewage illegally. He sought a warrant and served Williams, who was arrested for the violations.

On Feb. 24, 2006, William Chaplin, who works for DHEC environmental services, said he was on his way home to Neeses when he spied a truck with a smiley face in a wooded area along New Light Church Road.

He said he approached the truck, which had two occupants, and started taking pictures. The men jumped into the truck, covering their faces with their hands and sped away, he said.

One of the witnesses, Antonio Johnson, told the jury, “I saw one of the trucks with the smiley face on Alva Road, off Goff Avenue, where I live with my wife and children.”

“Shortly after the driver backed into the woods at the dead end of the street, I could see the raw sewage flowing down the street,” he said. “My children play over there. I don’t want my kids exposed to that stuff. On March 7, 2006, the DHEC inspector came out and took pictures of the sewage running by my house.”

Chaplin was the inspector for that complaint. He told the jury that the men were trying to pump the sewage into a manhole, but missed and the raw sewage was running down the street into the storm drain.

“And from the evidence I saw on the scene, when they left, they still had sewage running out of the hose,” Chaplin said. “And it was fresh and had a very bad odor.”

When the prosecution rested, the defense decided not to put Williams on the stand.

“I’ve advised my client not to speak, Your Honor,” said Jeff Holcombe, Williams’ attorney. “He has been served civil papers by DHEC, so I think it best if he keeps silent.”

Before pronouncing sentence and imposing the fines, King told Williams in such a case, he thinks it’s best to hit the defendant in his pocketbook.

Leonard Gordon, director of wastewater management for DHEC, said raw sewage poses a public health hazard.

“Dumping raw sewage in unpermitted, unauthorized areas is anathema to the environment, consequently potentially harmful to people and animals,” Gordon said after the sentencing. “When raw sewage is dumped in any area unpermitted by DHEC, they are putting concentrated pollutants in the environment.

“They are exposing people and animals to bacteria, viruses and for people on medication, like chemotherapy, those things can affect people in very adverse ways. That’s why we move to prosecute to the full extent of the law any person convicted of these crimes. We’ve got to deter this kind of activity. We’ve got to put an end to it. It’s too dangerous.”

n T&D Staff Writer Thomas Brown can be reached by e-mail at tbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5532. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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