Plea Deal Offered in Stream Pollution Case

County prosecutors have offered a former Merced sewage plant manager accused of dumping chlorine into a stream a plea deal that includes fines and 100 hours of community service.

The deal includes a suspended 60-day jail sentence, which would place Gerald Davidson on probation and require him to pay restitution, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brett Morris said Monday. Davidson faces five misdemeanor charges of polluting a stream. If found guilty, he faces jail time and up to $70,000 in fines. State officials say 2,000 fish died after the sewage plant received a shipment of chlorine in December 2001.