Ex-Sioux City wastewater treatment plant supervisor to plead guilty to federal charges

SIOUX CITY -- A former supervisor at Sioux City's wastewater treatment plant intends to plead guilty to federal criminal charges alleging he conspired with others to manipulate water sample test results to make it appear that discharges from the plant into the Missouri River met federal guidelines.

Patrick Schwarte's attorney on Monday filed a notice that Schwarte plans to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States and falsifying or providing inaccurate information from 2012 through June 2015. He is scheduled to appear before Chief Magistrate Judge Kelly Mahoney on Jan. 23 in U.S. District Court in Sioux City.

No other individuals had been charged as of Monday, though an information document filed last week by the U.S. Attorney's Office said other plant operators -- some who were known to prosecutors and others who were unknown -- were involved in a process in which they were instructed by Schwarte, who was a shift supervisor, and the plant superintendent to raise chlorine levels added to wastewater on days that E. coli samples were taken.

The elevated chlorine level would produce test samples showing plant discharges met federal limits for levels of fecal coliform and E. coli. Once the samples were taken, chlorine added to the city's wastewater was reduced to minimal levels unlikely to disinfect discharged water enough to meet federal standards, court documents said.

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