DNC apologizes after sewage from campaign bus dumped on Georgia street

Gwinnett County officials had to clean up a mess left near the county’s elections office by a bus promoting presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Tuesday, prompting an apology from the Democratic National Committee.

Lawrenceville police responded to a call about a bus dumping sewage onto Grayson Highway in front of an O’Reilly Auto Parts store on the edge of the Lawrenceville Town Center shopping center. The shopping center is where the Gwinnett County elections office is located and where thousands of voters have voted early this week.

The Gwinnett County Fire Department’s hazardous materials unit was called in to clean up the mess.

“Crews found a small amount of discharged sewage material on the side of the roadway, adjacent to a storm drain,” fire department spokesman, Capt. Tommy Rutledge said. “According to a witness, the discharge was from a DNC tour bus that pulled into the lane off the main road. The tour bus was not at the scene when firefighters and Lawrenceville police arrived.”

The dumping created a bio hazard situation, but Rutledge said liquid discharge from the dumping had already evaporated by the time haz mat crews arrived. He said the debris that was still in the road, however, was collected into a bio hazard bag and taken to a local hospital for proper disposal.

It was not immediately clear on Tuesday whether stormwater run-off goes directly into local waterways, or if it is processed through treatment and cleaning facility, as is the case with sewage system.

A Lawrenceville police report says an employee at the O’Reilly Auto Parts store told officers that he saw the bus pull into the turn lane before someone got out and released the sewage. The employee provided police with photos of the spilled sewage, according to the report.

“Someone exited the vehicle and opened the sewage drain,” officers wrote in the report. “The raw sewage spilled onto the roadway and into the storm drain … On the roadway where the RV had parked was a large amount of drying toilet paper and a foul smell.”

The bus featured the slogan “Forward Together” and had a picture of Clinton and her running mate, Tim Kaine, on the side. Now, the DNC is saying it’s sorry and pledging to work with officials to handle the situation.

“This was an honest mistake and we apologize to the Lawrenceville community for any harm we may have caused,” The DNC said in a statement. “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.”

The person who was operating the bus has not been identified, but once they’re found, they could face charges for illegal dumping, a Lawrenceville police spokesman told news outlets.