Attorney General's News Release

April 4, 2011

Attorney General Koster sues Camden County man for safe drinking water violations

Jefferson City, Mo. – Attorney General Chris Koster has filed a lawsuit against an Osage Beach man and the company he operates for multiple violations of Missouri’s Safe Drinking Water Law.

Koster said George Tucker operates the Paradise Tropical Restaurant and Bar in Sunrise Beach, which is owned by Tucker Investments, LLC. The restaurant maintains a drinking water system and serves drinking water to its customers. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) found that Tucker and the company violated state drinking water regulations at the restaurant by failing to:

• Monitor for microbiological contaminants in the water
• Meet the bacteriological requirement for absence of fecal and total coliform in the water
• Implement the changes that DNR required him to make in order to bring the drinking water system into compliance with the law

Koster is asking the court to issue an injunction requiring Tucker and the company to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Law; to assess a civil penalty of $50 per day for the first violation and $100 per day for each additional violation; and to require Tucker and the company to pay all costs associated with the case.

“Businesses that serve the public must understand that they have not only a moral obligation, but also a legal obligation, to make sure the drinking water they provide to consumers is safe,” Koster said. “There is simply no excuse to violate these laws, and this office will continue to see they are vigorously enforced.”