MDNR Files Lawsuit Against Jefferson City Utility Company and Raintree Plantation Inc.
May 3, 2007
JEFFERSON CITY, MO, MAY 3, 2007 -- This week, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources filed a lawsuit in the Jefferson County Circuit Court against Central Jefferson County Utilities Inc. and Raintree Plantation Inc. for violations of the Missouri Clean Water Law. Central Jefferson County Utilities Inc. owns and operates an extended aeration wastewater treatment facility that serves the Raintree Plantation Subdivision in Hillsboro in Jefferson County.
The treatment facility was designed to treat 64,000 gallons of wastewater per day and had a Missouri state operating permit to discharge effluent to Galligher Creek. However, discharge monitoring reports submitted for 2006 indicated the inflow of wastewater into the facility averaged more than 146,000 gallons per day, which is 128 percent over the design capacity.
Due to hydraulic capacity issues and ongoing construction of new homes, the department requested that Central Jefferson County Utilities submit plans to construct a new wastewater treatment facility. The department issued Central Jefferson County Utilities a construction permit in July 2005; however, they never started construction.
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an order for compliance on Dec. 1, 2005. The order prohibited Central Jefferson County Utilities from adding new connections to the existing wastewater treatment facility. EPA issued a second order on March 2, 2006, to Central Jefferson County Utilities. The second order requires the utility to submit, for review and approval, a work plan to study the collection system and then submit a second work plan, for review and approval, to correct the deficiencies found by the study.
The hydraulically overloaded facility washes out on a regular basis and deposits sludge in the creek. On several occasions between 2003 and 2006, Department of Natural Resources staff observed grease balls, organisms that indicated raw sewage in the stream, such as blood worms, pouch snails and sphaerotilus algae, as well as other human artifacts and sludge deposits for more than 1,000 feet in Galligher Creek below the outfall of the facility. As a result of documented violations of the Missouri Clean Water Law, the department has issued Central Jefferson County Utilities four Notices of Violation since 2004.
For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.
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