APRIL 3, 2015
SALISBURY, MARYLAND
A Salisbury man was convicted of installing an illegal
septic system that allowed waste to flow into a tributary of the Chesapeake
Bay, according to the Maryland Attorney General's Office.
Charles Elzey, who also goes by the name Billy Ennis, was
found guilty in Wicomico County Circuit Court of five counts of environmental
violations related to the illegal work, the Attorney General's Office said.
He was also found not guilty on 12 charges relating to the
case and acquitted on two on March 30, according to online court records.
According to the Attorney General's Office:
The case stemmed from a complaint lodged by tenants who
moved into a Delmar home in 2013. In February 2013, the tenants contacted the
owners, Marie and Darnell Marius of Delaware, to tell them that sewage was
backing up into sinks and the bathtub, the toilet wouldn't flush and that
strong odors were permeating the house.
The Mariuses hired Elzey, 65, of Salisbury, to address the
problem. Elzey installed a discharge pipe from the failing sewer system into a
wooded area of the backyard and onto a neighboring property. The waste
eventually drained into Wood Creek, a tributary of the Wicomico River, which
flows into the Chesapeake Bay.
Darnell Marius testified during the trial that he hired
Elzey, and did not obtain permits for the work. Elzey, who works for a sump
pump company as a pump and hauler and was performing work on the Mariuses'
property on the side, was not licensed to perform septic repairs.
A tenant testified that she saw Elzey removing old septic
lines and installing a new discharge pipe, which drained aboveground into the
neighboring property. The tenants had previously told Wicomico County health
officials, in connection with other charges relating to the case, that Marie
Marius came to the property to monitor the work being done, as well as to
provide payment for the installation. Marie Marius had been convicted
earlier this year in connection with the matter.
Elzey was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, complete 25 hours of
community service and was placed on two years of supervised probation, with a
six-month suspended sentence
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LAUREL WOMAN TO PAY $12K FOR POLLUTING CHESAPEAKE BAY
JANUARY 12, 2015
Marie J. Marius pleaded guilty to install a pipe which
polluted the Chesapeake Bay.
A Laurel woman must pay $12,000 in fines after pleading
guilty to polluting a Wicomico County waterway which feeds into the Chesapeake
Bay.
Marie J. Marius pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charges of
water pollution and the improper alteration of a sewage system, according to
Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh.
Attempts to contact Marius were unsuccessful.
According to Frosh’s office, new tenants renting her home
contacted both Marius and her husband, Darnell, in February 2013 to complain
about sewage backing up in the house.
The Mariuses then hired someone to install a discharge pipe
at the home to solve the sewage issue.
It was determined the pipe fed into a wooded area which
flowed into a creek that is a tributary of the Wicomico River and, conversely,
the Chesapeake Bay.
According to the attorney general’s office, the pipe was in
place for several months and has since been repaired and placed under the
supervision of the Wicomico County Health Department.
As a result of her sentence, Marius must pay $12,000
immediately to the Maryland Clean Water Fund. She was sentenced to pay $35,000
fine, but $23,000 of which was suspended.
In addition, she must perform 75 hours of community service
and will be placed on probation for three years, Frosh’s office said.
The contractor who performed the work, Charles Elzey, is
facing several charges for his work on the pipe and is scheduled for trial in
Wicomico County District Court in February.