News 12 First at Five, September 18, 2008

HARLEM, Ga -- Harlem's mayor and neighbors to Euchee Creek speaking out today after the Public Works Director is indicted on 11 federal counts accused of violating the clean water act and lying about it for years.

And as News 12's Lynnsey Gardner found out the man who's charged is still on the job

It's a criminal indictment for a crime the government says happened four years ago-and those living near Euchee Creek want to know why they've been kept in the dark.

"Y'all come back this way. " Mom Debbie Mullis says she never knew the backyard creek her children grew up playing in could be dangerous." It's shocking that we weren't notified or anything. I guess it's just dirty."

In more than just one way. This federal indictment charges that Daniel Cason who is the city's Public Works Director knowingly allowed pollutants into Euchee Creek back in 2004 and then lied about it.

It allegedly happened when Cason was in charge of the city of Harlem's Waste Water Treatment Pant. Around that time, the Georgia EPD did receive complaints and DNR investigated. News 12 obtained pictures of how DNR found Euchee Creek in 2004. It was a violation DNR said then may have been going on for quite sometime. DNR also said regardless of the cause, the city of harlem was to blame for not protecting Euchee Creek.

"Knowing that the creek was dirty and my kids walked down there and played in it, that was kind of nasty." says Mullis.

The indictment says Cason falsified measurements for almost two years for two things: biochemical oxygen demand and fecal coliform. Fecal Coliform can be from animal or human waste, storm water or untreated human sewage. It can pose numerous health risks like E Coli, Dysentery or Hepititis A.

The city says the water in question was not drinking water, but it's still unsettling for Debbie. "It's appalling. Unfortunately, a lot of times us people are the last to know. The people that are supposed to be taken care of by things- especially our government. Lots of times they fail and obviously they failed this time."

Harlem attorney Barry Fleming says Cason has been a city employee since 1994 and was promoted to Public Works Director in 2002.

Harlem's new mayor Billy Culpepper tells News 12 "Because of the investigation, the city has taken the appropriate step of segregating the public works director from any oversight of the waste treatment plant and may consider other action as appropriate until the matter runs its course."

The United States EPA and the FBI are handling this ongoing investigation.