A Carbon County man charged along with another person with illegally disposing of waste at his restaurant, entered a guilty plea on Thursday in the county court.

Ronald F. Gilbert, 76, of Palmerton, pleaded to one count each of unlawful conduct and violation of the clean streams act - pollution of water before Judge Steven R. Serfass.As part of a plea agreement, Serfass placed Gilbert on probation for three years and ordered him to pay a fine of $20,000.Gilbert was charged by the attorney general's office along with Gilbert C. Green, 68, of Palmerton, as the result of an investigation by the AG's environmental crimes unit.According to the criminal complaint, investigators learned Gilbert, the owner of the Covered Bridge Inn in Lower Towamensing Township, enlisted Green to pump waste from the septic tank at his restaurant into a nearby storm drain.Green served as a handyman for the business.A state police trooper reported witnessing firsthand sewage being pumped from Gilbert's business into a storm drain. The storm drain ran directly into Hunter Creek, which is classified by the state Department of Environmental Protection as a high quality, cold water fishery.This illegal disposal of waste took place from March 2014 through January 2015. A Lower Towamensing Township sewage enforcement officer sent Gilbert several letters reminding him of regulations regarding the illegal discharge of sewage.The letters followed citizen complaints related to the alleged discharges, the criminal complaint stated.Gilbert, of 120 Whispering Wood Drive, and Green, of 4170 Hahns Dairy Road, were both charged with one count each of unlawful conduct, prohibition against other pollution, pollution of waters and sewage discharges.Defense attorney John J. Waldron of Allentown, told the court, "No vegetation, fish or wildlife was damaged in this incident."Waldron added that Gilbert is attempting to sell the restaurant and move out of the state.Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Snyder Franz, who prosecuted the case, said the state fish and boat commission agreed with the plea agreement and disposition of the matter.When asked by Serfass if he had anything to say, Gilbert replied, "No."Serfass also ordered Gilbert to pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation, court costs of about $1,000 and render a total of 200 hours of community service.It was noted that $5,000 of the fine will be given to the county environmental center.Green's case is pending. He has a pretrial conference scheduled for 9 a.m. June 30.