The U.S. Department of Justice (Justice Department) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced yesterday a settlement after alleged violations at the Lame Deer Wastewater Treatment Facility (facility) in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana
The settlement requires the operator, Northern Cheyenne Utilities Commission (NCUC), to make significant improvements to the facility to improve its financial capacity to ensure sustained public health and environmental compliance. The settlement also includes a civil penalty to address past violations, adjusted downward to $1,500 based on an inability to pay, and stipulated penalties to resolve any future violations during a five-year minimum period.
Prior to this action, the facility had allegedly been in recurring noncompliance with Clean Water Act (CWA) and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) requirements since at least 2008. Allegations included effluent exceedances, failure to submit discharge monitoring reports, failure to meet compliance schedule deadlines, failure to properly operate and maintain the facility, unauthorized bypasses of treatment units and unpermitted discharges of partially treated and untreated sewage.
From 2013 through 2016, numerous sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) occurred from multiple locations around the facility’s collection system and lagoon. Many, if not all, of the SSOs flowed into Lame Deer Creek, and from March 1, 2017 until March 1, 2018, the facility discharged from the lagoon into Lame Deer Creek without NPDES permit authorization. As a result of this enforcement effort, the facility obtained its current NPDES permit on March 1, 2018.
Since 2017, a technical workgroup comprising representatives from NCUC, DOJ, EPA, Indian Health Service, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and federally funded technical assistance providers has assisted the NCUC in completing major and much-needed wastewater infrastructure improvement projects to the facility’s lagoon and collection system. The technical workgroup has assisted, and will continue to assist, the NCUC in building their operational and managerial capacity. The facility has not had a single lagoon overflow or collection system SSO since this action commenced and the technical workgroup was established.
“This settlement is the culmination of years of collaboration between the NCUC, Justice Department, EPA, and invaluable stakeholders, including the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, the federal Indian Health Service and federally funded technical assistance providers, to resolve the problems underlying these violations,” said Suzanne Bohan, EPA Region 8 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director. “The parties’ shared commitment to developing sustainable, community-specific solutions for improving wastewater infrastructure, utility management, and Clean Water Act compliance will help the NCUC provide reliable wastewater treatment services to the community, protecting public health and water quality on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation for years to come.”
SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency
