Indictment says Yuma lab falsified water tests

A federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a three-count indictment of falsifying test results against a Yuma woman who ran a laboratory that tested water samples for water companies, schools and farms in Yuma and La Paz counties.

The indictment, which was made public Thursday, charges 56-year-old Nancy Miller, the laboratory director of Sunstate Environmental Laboratory in Yuma, with three counts of mail fraud because she allegedly sent the fake test results through the mail.

Miller, when contacted by The Sun on Thursday said, "I never intentionally did anything wrong."

She added that she has yet to receive any documents from the court regarding her case, including the indictment.

A conviction for mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

The prosecution in the case is being handled by Gary M. Restaino and Mark Brnovich, assistant U.S. attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix. A spokesman said the agency had no further comment about the case other than the information provided in the indictment.

The indictment alleges that between 2003 and 2004, Miller engaged in "dry-labbing" when she reported negative results without actually testing water samples for potentially harmful bacteria.

It further indicates that Miller charged between $25 and $30 for each of the 5,500 tests she was hired to perform during that year.

Miller owned Sunstate Environmental Laboratories in Yuma and agreed to close the company after a state investigation. She still runs Sunstate Environmental Services, which manages water companies and wastewater facilities.

According to its Web site, Sunstate Environmental Services is one of the largest water, wastewater and monitoring well service companies in Yuma and southern La Paz Counties.

The company's clients include many small city, tribal, mobile home park and private water, wastewater and monitoring well systems.

According to the indictment, Miller's company tested for total coliforms, fecal coliforms and E. coli bacteria. It indicates that between Jan. 1, 2003 and Nov. 18, 2004, her company received approximately 5,500 water samples from waste water treatment facilities, mobile home parks, recreational vehicle communities, schools, restaurants irrigation water, water companies and other environmental service companies in Yuma and La Paz counties, including Riverside Environmental Service Inc., which is also in Yuma.

The indictment states Riverside contracted with Miller's company to analyze samples that Riverside collected from local farms.

Riverside became concerned that Miller always reported results negative for coliforms in canal water used to irrigate crops, the indictment stated.

In November 2003, Riverside split 13 water samples three ways and delivered them to Sunstate and two other companies for analysis.

Then on Nov. 20, 2003, Miller reported negative total coliform results on each of the three samples while the two other companies, which received the same samples, reported positive results for total coliforms on all of them as well as positive results for E. coli on many of them.

The Arizona Department of Health Services began an audit into Sunstate's operation in or around April 2004. It concluded that Sunstate purchased and possessed fewer nutrient media units, which is used to grow the coliform in the samples, than the samples collected for analysis.

The agency also reported that Sunstate did not have enough incubator space to test the number of samples it had collected. It also concluded that Miller falsified records about the samples during the investigation.

An indictment is a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity. Miller will be summonsed to appear for her arraignment.

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James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.