Attorney General files 10 suits near Lake of the Ozarks

Ten businesses near Lake of the Ozarks are the subjects of 10 different lawsuits filed by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster for violations of the state Clean Water Law.

Those being sued:

• James R. Robinson, who owns a wastewater treatment facility in Sunrise Beach, is accused of operating without a permit and causing contaminants to pollute Lake of the Ozarks;

• Niangua Vista Condominiums Owner's Association, which operates a wastewater treatment facility for the subdivision, allegedly failed to renew its operating permit or submit required discharge monitoring reports and allowed untreated sewage to run off into the lake;

• Casa de Loco LLC, which owns and operates a winery with overnight accommodations in Camdenton, where a treatment facility was allegedly being run without a permit;

• Big Bear Resort Condominiums Association Inc., which operates a wastewater treatment facility for the condos and allegedly did not submit monitoring reports or install a dechlorination system;

• Michael Petrovich, president of Grandview Amenities Inc., who developed a condo project at Lake Ozark and allegedly allowed untreated sewage to exit the facility;

• Thomas Shoemaker, who developed Reflections Condominiums in Camdenton through his ABBA Development Co. LLC, allowed untreated wastewater to enter the lake from the treatment facility he constructed;

• Coconuts at the Lake LLC, which owns Coconuts Caribbean Bar and Grill in Gravois Mills and allegedly allowed untreated sewage to enter the lake;

• Clayton Fink, organizer and registered agent for Hawthorne Trace Homes Association LLC, who allegedly constructed a wastewater treatment facility for Hawthorne Trace Subdivision in Laurie that discharged water with contaminants above maximum daily limits and failed to submit monitoring or engineering reports;

• Steve Van Lerberg, who operates a wastewater treatment system serving the Van's Mill Creek Point Subdivision in Gravois Mills that allegedly failed to renew its operating permit, submit monitoring reports, meet effluent limits or post warning signs; and

• Geri Gillespie, owner and operator of the Double M Mobile Coach Ranch in Warsaw, where wastewater that discharges into lake tributaries allegedly exceeds maximum daily contaminant limits.

Each defendant faces injunctions and civil fines of up to $10,000 per day for each alleged violation.

"Violations of our Clean Water Laws are not acceptable,” Koster said in a news release. "We will continue to take aggressive legal action against those who violate Missouri’s Clean Water Laws.”[[In-content Ad]]