HUSTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- People who live near the Huston Township Wastewater Treatment Plant were shocked to learn its operator is facing charges of faking tests on its water.

The attorney general's office announced the charges last week.

The operator, John Forster, is charged with faking more than 1,000 tests from January 2006 to October 2007.

Another plant operator, Donald Rucinski, from Jay Township, Elk County, is facing similar charges.

The tests were sent to the Department of Environmental Protection.

According to court documents, the men were also running the plants on about half the supplies needed to clean the water.

"They did something illegal," said Thomas Luvenduski, who lives near the plant. "But there are many people who get away with it."

Both men have worked at the sewage plant for the past 10 years.