I'll bet there are either circumstances you are unaware of, arrangements you are unaware of, or the operator was unaware of the activities of the contractor.
No, no and doubtful. However, you will have to take my word for it. I cannot prove it here on this forum and would be hard pressed to prove it in person. Honestly you guys have me over a barrel here on the proof issue because in order to do so, I would have to start dropping names and instances and it would come back to haunt me IRL most likely. It would be dredging up things that have been LONG settled or glossed over and frankly it would be really bad form for me in my community to do so.
Also:
an operator willingly and intentionally sourcing water from an illegal source
Illegal? Hard to say what laws are broken when it happens. I guess there is trespassing if the land is private but I just don't know. Hard to put a price on a truck load of water or a few mudcats stuck to the filter. If caught red handed, you could sue for damages but then you have to assess the damages. Again this is if it is all on private property.