A former superintendent of the Northwest Lancaster County Authority's waste water treatment plant faces charges he tampered with reports to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

J. Scott Shank, 65, of Manheim, is accused of submitting false reports from April 2005 to March 2008, according to a news release from state Attorney General Tom Corbett. Shank retired in July.

Corbett said Shank reduced solids in waste water samples by using a paper towel as a filter and reported flow rates for several months in 2007 when the meters were broken.

Shank is charged with 15 felony counts of tampering with public records or information and 14 misdemeanor counts of unsworn falsification to authorities. He faces a maximum penalty of up to $147,500 in fines and 133 years in prison.

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