Efforts are underway to clean up a massive sewage spill in Onslow County.
It's estimated that about seven million gallons of mostly untreated sewage spilled onto the ground and into local waterways over a four month period.
Nine On Your Side's Philip Jones sorts out the mess and finds out why it took so long to for someone to do something about it.
“I can't begin to tell you how much I want to see these people suffer for what they've done to the environment,” said Brian Wheat.
As president of the White Oak-New River Alliance, Wheat is raising a stink over the millions of gallons of untreated sewage that soaked into the ground and local waterways in Onslow County.
“I'm hoping that criminal charges will be brought the owner and operator of this plant,” Wheat said.
He estimates the plant -- in the Springdale Acres community in southwest Jacksonville -- failed four months ago.
But neither the operator of the troubled plant nor the state agency that permits its operation did anything about it until last week.
Why? Well, that's a good question.
The plant's owner -- Centerline Utilities -- employs an operator who lives on site.
We asked him what happened, but he told us he wasn't allowed to talk -- and we couldn't track down anyone from Centerline.
The state Division of Water Quality inspects wastewater plants, but tells Nine On Your Side that until a random visit last week when the issue was discovered, no one visited this plant since April 2007.
The agency says it was using its limited resources for other tasks.
Ed Beck with the DWQ says that's no excuse, and that the agency is now renewing efforts to inspect other plants.
Still, it's an explanation that doesn't sit well with wheat.
“The state of North Carolina totally let down the citizens of this community,” he said.
The Onslow Water and Sewer Authority was already working to take over the plant from Centerline.
Those efforts have accelerated now as ONWASA workers are left to clean up the mess.
The Springdale Acres plant serves about 280 customers, including two Onslow County schools.
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