Ohio man pleads guilty to dumping contaminated wastewater into river, killing more than 40,000 fish

Story at a glance

• Mark Shepherd, 72, pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act by dumping about 7,000 gallons of wastewater containing pollutants and hazardous substances into the Scioto River near Kenton on April 17, 2021.

• The pollutants came from two businesses owned by Shepherd, the Justice Department said.

• The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ultimately determined that the hazardous substances killed 43,094 fish.