Driving Under The Effluence
Interesting news about the Dave Matthews Band in
ProSound News Online:
bq. The Dave Matthews Band, currently on tour, has been accused of violating Illinois state water pollution and public nuisance laws, fines for which could reach $70,000. The band and tour bus driver Stefan A. Whol were accused by Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan on Tuesday over an incident on August 8 where reportedly one of the band’s tour busses dumped 80-100 gallons of human waste on to a Chicago River tourist boat.
bq. During a two-night stand at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, WI on August 7 and 8, the band stayed in a Michigan Avenue hotel in Chicago; according to the three-count civil complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court, a black 2003 Monaco Royale Coach which was on tour with the production dumped a tank of effluence while crossing a grated bridge. Unfortunately, a boat of tourists on an architectural sight-seeing journey was passing underneath at the time.
Eeeewwww... The story gets better but unfortunately casts a bad light on the Dave Matthews Band publicist:
bq. A band publicist claims the tour was not involved, and has stated that all of its busses were parked at the time of the incident, noting in a statement, "Our driver has stated that he was not involved in this incident. We reserve any judgment until we see the evidence." On the day of the incident, police initially fingered Jerry Fitzpatrick, a driver for the band whose bus was parked nearby. Fitzpatrick denied involvement and insisted that police inspect his vehicle; its waste tank was nearly full.
bq.
Detectives pored through videotapes from local businesses’ surveillance cameras, eventually tracking the bus, they say, to Whol. In a statement, Madigan remarked, "This incident may be unique, but that does not lessen the environmental or public health risks posed by the release of at least 800 pounds of liquid human waste into a busy waterway and onto a crowded tour boat…. This situation clearly demonstrates the environmental and public health problems that can occur when laws are ignored. This act was not only offensive, it was illegal."
Emphasis mine.
Posted by DaveH at August 26, 2004 5:33 PM