DNC apologizes for sewage dump in Gwinnett County

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Police in Lawrenceville have released photos investigators say show a bus chartered by the Democratic National Committee dumping human waste into a storm drain.

It happened around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday at 455 Grayson Highway, near where people were waiting in line for early voting in Gwinnett County. According to a police report obtained by FOX 5 News, witnesses at the nearby O'Reilly Auto Parts saw the bus pulled up near a storm drain, someone got out, and opened the sewage drain. The report goes on to state that a large amount of "drying toilet paper" and a "foul smell" was left behind.

The witness, Mike Robins, took photos of the incident and later contacted police.

Robins noticed something odd when he looked out the window from his manager’s job at O'Reilly Auto Parts on Grayson Highway.

“You don't pull up and dump raw sewage on the street and in the storm drain. You just don't do that,” said Robins.

“There is a violation, there is a city violation for dumping materials into the storm drain system, obviously this feeds into streams,” said Capt. Jeff Smith.

A DNC spokesperson said the driver of the bus noticed the tank was full and was leaking out. The DNC said the driver was concerned that driving further would put cars on the road at risk.

The Democratic National Committee released the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

“This was an honest mistake and we apologize to the Lawrenceville community for any harm we may have caused. We were unaware of any possible violations and have already taken corrective action with the charter bus company to prevent this from happening again. Furthermore, the DNC will work with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, as well as local and state officials to determine the best course of corrective action.”

Police said they are working with the Gwinnett County Storm Water and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, to try to prevent the waste from entering the water supply.

The Lawrenceville Police Department opted to send the case to Georgia’s EPD, although admits there apparently was a violation.

“We'll have to talk to the charter bus company and determine what happened and why,” said Kevin Chambers with Georgia’s EPD.

Chambers said he couldn't speculate if there was a violation until they are able to fully determine what happened.