Two Idaho cities pay $15,000 penalties for wastewater violations

Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the cities of Winchester and Craigmont, Idaho have agreed to each pay a $15,000 penalty for hundreds of Clean Water Act violations at the cities’ wastewater treatment plants. 

During inspections in August 2019 and following a review of each treatment plants’ records, EPA found that the cities allegedly regularly discharged wastewater into their nearby creeks in excess of permit limits. Winchester’s plant discharges treated wastewater into Lapwai Creek and Craigmont’s plant discharges into John Dobb Creek. EPA claims that Winchester also failed to maintain a quality assurance plan for the monitoring required in its permit.

“Operators of these plants must ensure compliance with their permits because excess amounts of pollutants can harm people and aquatic life,” said Ed Kowalski, director of EPA Region 10’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. “Here in the West, the water bodies that receive these discharges are already at risk from climate change and drought, so compliance with permits is particularly important to communities, and thus to the EPA.”

In addition to each city paying the $15,000 penalty, both cities agreed to develop and implement a Facility Plan that will describe the specific actions, upgrades, and remedial measures to achieve and maintain compliance with the effluent limitations and requirements of their Clean Water Act permits.

Craigmont also agreed to implement interim measures to achieve compliance with the chlorine limits in its permit until construction and implementation of the Facility Plan is complete. Winchester must complete implementation of its Facility Plan by April 30, 2025 and Craigmont must complete implementation of its Facility Plan by June 1, 2025.

SOURCE: Environmental Protection Agency