Having read the recent Butler Eagle editorials dealing with the state Department of Environmental Protection's moratorium on sewer taps in the Butler Area Sewer Authority's service area, and the June 1 letter to the editor from Kelly Burch, DEP's Northwest Region director, I can shed some light on what they are really doing at DEP's office in Meadville, Crawford County.

Besides hurting business start-ups, DEP is targeting existing businesses as well.

I own Professional Billing Group, Inc., which is located four miles north of Portersville. We are a medical billing company with 50 full-time employees and growing, with clients in 14 different states.

The fees we receive from outside Pennsylvania all flow into this state.

Burch's staff has spent the last eight months bullying us. Their method is to intimidate and harass business. They are using the color of office to threaten us and need dealt with by the legislature for their tactics and waste of taxpayers' money.

I too find Burch's word "help" to be far from the truth. The trouble is, this group of cowboys is out of control. Everything I am about to say is documented and can be verfied.

I purchased our building in January 2005. It was built in 1996 with all the permits and latest construction. It's in a rural area, so we have a water well and a water softener.

I had no idea what was about to come, as the DEP wishes to deem us a "Public Water Source."

In September 2005, a man dropped in without picture ID and demanded to "'walk through and inspect our building." He stated his job and ID entitled him to "enter any building in Pennsylvania." He was dressed in jeans, ball cap, etc. We did not allow him to do this, and asked for official documentation.

Over the next month or so, several other DEP people arrived and demanded to meet with me, without an appointment. I asked again for official documentation and what regulations apply to a well. There had been no complaints or environmental incidents.

On Nov. 16, 2005, five DEP agents and a state trooper arrived with a search warrant. Edward Mokos was one of them. He told the receptionist: "Get Mr. Critchlow right now or I will shut you down and kick all of you out of here. I own this building for 24 hours and can do what I see fit."

I met Mokos in the waiting area; he was very agitated at this point. In front of 10 employees, he told me to "sit down and shut up."

He demanded to see or take my computers, filing cabinets and payroll records. I refused, as the search warrant did not state this.

They photographed every sink, toilet and faucet, and spent more than two hours here. They wrote down my employees' names from the time clock area.

All water samples taken by them tested negative.

We have done our own testing and each time it's negative. Yet, the DEP tried to make us do well stress testing, employ a certified operator, and fill out 50 pages of DEP water plant forms — yes, all over one water well.

When I challenged them by reading their own regulations, another DEP employee, Matt Postlewaite, became angry with me and decided to "fine us." He wanted $1,250 from us.

He refused to tell me the basis for this amount, like days of violation, etc. It's a "civil consent agreement," he said.

The DEP does not wish to give due process in front of a judge.

Time and time again, these guys have been wrong about their own regulations.

This has cost us many hours and legal fees, but I will continue to stand up to these types.

What a way to treat a business.

They will drive us all out if someone does not stop them.