Charges dropped against Tumwater water treatment company and owner, lawyer says

Update: A previous photo attached to this story showed an incorrect location. The photo has been removed and replaced.

The charges and a fine have been dropped against a Tumwater business and owner accused of falsifying water samples, his attorney said Tuesday.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that a local water utility company and its owner were being fined for falsifying water samples. He was sentenced to 80 hours community service and 364 days in jail, and his business was fined $5,000, according to a news release.

But attorney Wayne Fricke, who represents owner Timothy Tayne, said the jail time and fine was dropped because Tayne completed the 80 hours of community service work.

Tayne is the owner of Clearwater Utility Services, which was under investigation by the EPA for allegedly submitting false water samples from a public water system to a laboratory. The water samples were being tested for lead and copper.

This story was originally published June 21, 2022 at 9:46 AM.

Ty Vinson

The Olympian

360-357-0201

Ty Vinson covers the City of Olympia and keeps tabs on Tumwater and other communities in Thurston County. He joined The Olympian in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at the Northwest Indiana Times, the Oregonian and the Arizona Republic as a Pulliam Fellow. Support my work with a digital subscription