Madill City Manager James Fullingim, along with city employees, are now fighting an uphill battle after learning about false water samples and untreated wastewater.
The city’s wastewater is supposed to go through the Madill Water Treatment Plant, then discharge into a stream that feeds into Lake Texoma. Fullingim recently learned that the wastewater may not have been treated as thoroughly as the numbers proclaim. He said he learned this during a recent trip to the plant.
“In the late afternoon of May 8, 2024, George Andrews, Jr., Madill Wastewater Treatment Superintendent, confessed to me that he had been falsifying the test results that he sends into DEQ,OklahomaDepartment of Environmental Quality,” said Fullingim. “This was at the end of the day, so I advised Mr. Andrews that he was to be in my office the following morning so that I could interview him.
Fullingim said Andrews showed up the following morning for the interview.
“On May 9, 2024, I met Mr. Andrews at my office to find out what he has been falsifying,” Fullingim said. “Mr. Andrews advised me that he would lower the test results to a lower number, but would still turn them in higher than what the regulations allowed.”
“Mr.Andrewsalsoadvised me that he would dilute the samples that he sent to outside with distilled water,” Fullingim continued.
Fullingim knew he must spring into action after learning of the falsification.
“After learning this information, I knew that I must report these violations to DEQ so the violations can be dealt with, as well as get assistance fromDEQongetting our wastewater treatment plant running correctly,” he said. “After I finished my interview with Mr. Andrews, I called DEQ and reported Mr. Andrews’ actions.”
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) discovered that untreated wastewater has been pumped into the lake. Andrews, the now former superintendent of the Madill Wastewater Treatment Plant, has been keeping that fact a secret and falsifying records for quite some time.
Fullingim said the news surprised him, and he thinks it was a relief for the former supervisor.
“I was very surprised,” Fullingim said. “I didn’t see him as someone who would do this to someone. I don’t want to say relieved, but I think he’s just been holding this in and holding this secret that’sbeeneatinghimup,and I thought he had a sense of relief when he told me what he had been doing.”
Fullingim reported Andrews’ actions to the Department ofEnvironmentalQuality. He said he didn’t know what kind of risk it had on the community. The DEQ is now investigating to find out just how much wastewater has gone untreated.
“We’re just now starting to get real numbers on what our discharge is, so that’s kind of where we’re at right now,” Fullingim said.
DEQ is working with Madill to bring the system back in compliance, but with the sample results falsified, they are unsure of the amount of untreated wastewater.
Fullingim said with the uncertainty looming, it might mean trouble in the future.
“I don’t really know what the answer will be as far as a fix. Unfortunately, it could lead to us needing a new sewer plant in the future,” Fullingim said.
Fullingim said that some actions have already been taken to fix the problem.
“Mr. Andrews is no longer an employee with the City of Madill,” Fullingim said. “Christopher Northcutt has been appointed as Interim WastewaterTreatmentPlant Superintendent. Mr. Northcutt was already employed with the City of Madill as an operator at the City’s Water Treatment Plant.”
“At this time, the City of Madill, and its current employees at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, are working aggressively at resolving these issues,” Fullingim continued. “We are working closely with DEQ, our engineer, as well as with several private companies.”
Andrews, a 53-year-old male from Ardmore, has been charged with Filing a Forged Instrument. An online search shows Andrews has multiple priors in Oklahoma. They are for Possession of CDS, Possession of a Firearm while Committing a Felony, Possession of CDS with the Intent to Distribute, Child Neglect, Resisting, Driving Under Suspension, Attempted Manufacture of More than 50 Grams of CDS - Methamphetamines After the Formal Conviction of a Felony and Assault and Battery on a Police Officer.
SourcessaidthatAndrews was a DOC inmate working at the Wastewater Treatment Plant on a work release program. The sources also stated that Andrews recently received a pardon, then was hired at the plant full time.