Some Mount Rainier sewage diverted to river

TACOMA, Wash. – A waste treatment operator at Mount Rainier National Park has been charged with dumping 200,000 gallons of sewage into the Nisqually River.

Federal prosecutors charged 52-year-old James Barber with violating the Clean Water Act. He's expected to enter a plea at a Friday court appearance in Tacoma.

The News Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/QAs49o) Barber was in charge of the plant that handles waste from the Paradise Visitor Center and Paradise Inn.

He's accused of diverting untreated waste into a drainage ditch in the spring and summer of 2011 after a filter became clogged. Testing found about 200,000 gallons of minimally treated sewage reached the river.