ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610070054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER
A Bedford County trailer park owner has been found guilty of a misdemeanor charge of exceeding water contamination levels in the community's private water supply.
D.J. Cooper, who owns Hardy Road Trailer Park, pleaded innocent, but on Thursday a county jury ruled against him. He was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine without jail time. He could have been sentenced to as much as a year in jail.
The state Department of Health cited Cooper in 1993 for having high levels of iron and manganese in the park's water. He failed to meet a court-ordered deadline earlier this year to remove the naturally occurring metals from the water. Though the situation did not pose a public health threat, many residents complained that the elevated levels of iron and manganese caused a foul smell and stained their clothes and dishes.
"The commonwealth's certainly very pleased with the jury's verdict," Bedford County Commonwealth's Attorney Randy Krantz said. "We felt that Mr. Cooper was guilty and he should have made every effort to bring the [water] system into compliance."
LENGTH: Short : 29 linesby CNB