EPA v. Painted Apron Water Company et al.

Case summary

On March 7, 2012, EPA referred the case to DOJ for numerous violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) by the owner and operator of Painted Apron Water Company in his operation, and ultimate abandonment, of the public water system that serves the community of Painted Apron Village, in the town of Deerpark, in Orange County, New York. Alleged violations included failure to monitor for, and report on, certain contaminants and other chemicals, failure to prepare timely and complete monthly operation reports, failure to provide the customers with Consumer Confidence Reports, failure to correct significant deficiencies in the water treatment facilities, exceeding the Maximum Contaminant Level for E.Coli, failure to properly disinfect the water, leaving the system without a certified operator, and failure to provide public notice of the violations. Therefore, the Defendants violated the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 C.F.R. Part 141) and the New York State Sanitary Code (Title 10 New York Code Rules and Regulations Part 5 Subpart 5-1) and were in significant violation of state and federal law by providing water that posed an imminent threat and significant risk to public health. Because the Defendants were unwilling to operate the system, and because no other operator could be legally compelled to do so, the U.S. government team engaged several residents of the Painted Apron Village who had, in response to the abandonment, voluntarily undertaken repairs and operated the system, to provide technical and legal support for them to become the legal operators. The U.S. team also engaged the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC), the Orange County Department of Health and the Town of Deerpark, to facilitate the appointment, under state law, of the residents as the operators of the system. On July 22, 2013, the PSC appointed the residents “temporary operators” (which is, in effect, a permanent status unless/until displaced by another appointment). The appointment empowers the residents to collect usage fees from the customers and perform all necessary acts to repair and maintain the system. In order to ensure that the residents would have unencumbered access to, and control of, the system and associated property, DOJ entered into a stipulation of settlement with the Defendant whereby he agreed not to interfere with the operation of the system, agreed to turn over all records related to the system to the residents, and granted a $50,000 lien on the property to the U.S., to be redeemed as a penalty in the event that the property is ever converted to another use. On February 27, 2014, DOJ simultaneously filed a complaint against the Defendant, along with the stipulation, and on March 3, 2014, the court entered the stipulation as an order.

Defendants (2)

• Painted Apron Water Company, Inc.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• Edward A. EhertsNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• PAINTED APRON VILLAGE

  57 OLD GREENVILLE PIKE, PORT JERVIS, NY, 12771

  Registry ID: 110057186370

Statutes cited

• SDWA 1412/1414 — National Drinking Water Regulations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Painted Apron Water Company et al.entered 2014-03-03

  Primary law: SDWA

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 2012-03-07Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2012-03-20Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2014-02-27Complaint Filed With Court
• 2014-02-27Final Order Lodged
• 2014-03-03Concluded
• 2014-03-03Final Order Entered
• 2015-04-01Enforcement Action Closed