Owner Of Capital District Water Lab Pleads Guilty

Attorney General Spitzer and State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Erin Crotty today announced the guilty plea of a Newtonville man who falsified municipal water quality test results at his laboratory.

The defendant, Kenneth W. Drautz, 78, of 10 Meadow Lane, Newtonville, director of Watervliet Laboratory, pled guilty today to Falsifying Business Records in the second degree, a Class "A" misdemeanor, before Judge Susan B. Reinfurt, in Watervliet City Court. He was fined $225 and ordered to pay $800 restitution to the state for costs of an investigation.

"New Yorkers have a right to expect that water treatment facilities are operating in compliance with the law to ensure a safe supply of drinking water and a clean environment," Attorney General Spitzer said. "The foundation of this system is sound science and honest laboratories. My office will continue to work with the DEC to prosecute those who violate the environmental laws as a matter of convenience and profit."

DEC Commissioner Crotty said: "Municipalities across New York State operate water treatment systems to protect and maintain our valuable water resources. Water quality testing is an important part of this process and, in this case, we worked with the Attorney General's Office to ensure that such testing is performed in a manner that is protective of public health and our environment."

Drautz is the operator of the City of Watervliet water treatment facility. Besides his municipal duties, he also operated a private testing laboratory at the Watervliet facility located on Route 155 in Colonie. Drautz's laboratory conducted state-required water sample analyses for other water and sewage treatment plants in the Capital District area.

Beginning in June 2002, as part of a state investigation, Drautz was hired to perform five weekly analyses of water samples for a fictitious municipal sewage treatment plant.

As part of the investigation, however, the water samples delivered to Drautz came from a DEC undercover investigator working in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General. The June 19, 2002 samples delivered to Drautz had been deliberately altered to ensure they would exceed the allowable limits for suspended solids in water.

While the samples were required to be analyzed in less than a week to ensure accuracy, the investigator observed that they remained sealed a week after they were to be tested. Nevertheless Drautz provided the investigator with, and maintained as a part of his records, a lab report indicating that the total suspended solids in the samples were within legal limits. An independent laboratory hired by the Attorney General's Office tested the samples and concluded they contained significantly more suspended solids than allowed.

DEC officials have contacted the facilities that contracted with Drautz for water testing services and they are using other certified labs to test their water and wastewater treatment plant effluent.

The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Rocky Piaggione of the Criminal Prosecution Bureau. The DEC investigation was conducted by Investigator Joseph Conroy under the supervision of Lt. David Wayman.