EPA v. THE CITY OF GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPI

Case summary

OCTOBER 6, 2021 - ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER ON CONSENT: On November 6, 2019, EPA inspectors, accompanied by an MDEQ inspector, conducted a compliance evaluation inspection (CEI) and determined the WWTP was discharging wastewater with little to no treatment or disinfection into the Mississippi River at Outfall 001. In addition, the City was not properly managing sewage sludge at the WWTP resulting in sewage entering the Mississippi River at Outfall 001. Conditions observed at the WWTP included the growth of vegetation and the accumulation of solids in the aeration tanks, the accumulation of solids in the clarifiers and bypass channel, and missing pumps and pipes. The WWTP's discharge of sewage to the Mississippi River is a discharge of a pollutant within the meaning of Section 502(12) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ? 1362(12). The DMRs submitted to MDEQ by the City indicated that the City has discharged high concentrations of pollutants in violation of the Permit effluent limits each month during the period from June 1, 2019 through the present. Effluent limits violated include biochemical oxygen demand, 5-day (BODs), BODs percent removal, total suspended solids (TSS), TSS percent removal, and fecal coliform. Additionally, the City fail d to report values for effluent limits in May and July 2019 for TSS percent removal and fecal coliform. The City also reported too numerous to count for fecal coliform in June, August, and September 2019. See Attachment 1 for the Permit limits and some of the violations from May 2019 through July 2021. Under the 2019 AO, the City submitted and on April 13, 2020 the EPA approved an Interim Corrective Action Plan ( ICAP ) for the emergency repairs to the WWTP. Originally, the City was supposed to complete implementation of the ICAP by September 30, 2020. The approved ICAP required the City to rehabilitate the WWTP to allow for full treatment, including disinfection, of the daily average dry weather flow of wastewater. The treated wastewater had to comply with the Permit effluent limits included in the City's NPDES permit upon completion of the work. ? On August 19, 2020, the City requested and the EPA granted an extension of the ICAP implementation deadline from September 30, 2020 to May 15, 2021. The primary basis for this extension was flooding of the Mississippi River and its effect on the groundwater level at the WWTP, which impacted the contractors' ability to drain, clean, and repair the aeration basins and secondary clarifiers. On May 11, 2021, the City then requested and the EPA granted a second extension of the ICAP implementation deadline from May 15, 2021 to August 15, 2021. The primary basis for this extension was ongoing elevated groundwater levels due to spring flooding of the Mississippi River and certain contractor delays. On August 5, 2021., the City submitted a third request to extend the ICAP implementation deadline from August 15, 2021 to November 15, 2021 due to ongoing elevated groundwater levels. On August 16, 2021, the EPA granted a limited 30-day extension from August 15, 2021 to September 14, 2021 for the EPA to negotiate the present AOC with the City. On September 14, 2021, the EPA granted an additional 14-day extension (to September 28, 2021) for the Parties to complete these negotiations. From June 2019 to the present, the City has continued to discharge billions of gallons of partially treated wastewater into the Mississippi River in violation of the Permit effluent limits for BODs, BODs percent removal, TSS, TSS percent removal, and fecal coliform.

Defendants (1)

• THE CITY OF GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPINamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• GREENVILLE POTW

  2900 TREATMENT PLANT ROAD, GREENVILLE, MS, 38701

  Registry ID: 110008515320

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• THE CITY OF GREENVILLE, MISSISSIPPIentered 2021-10-06

  Primary law: CWA

Timeline (2 milestones)

• 2021-10-06Final Order Issued
• 2021-10-28Enforcement Action Data Entered