EPA v. Pine River MDCA

Case summary

Pine River MDCA is a public water system that continues to violate the Safe Drinking Water Act for inadequate surface water treatment. On August 12, 2016, EPA Region 6 issued an Administrative Penalty Order (APO) under its authority pursuant to Sections 1414(g) and 1445 of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The APO was issued to Pine River Mutual District Consumer Association (Respondent) located in Pine River, New Mexico. On January 9, 2015, EPA Region 6 issued an Administrative Order (AO) under its authority pursuant to Sections 1414(g) and 1445 of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to Chris Perkins of the Pine River MDCA Water System (Respondent), for SDWA violations. The AO was issued in response to turbidity exceedances, monitoring and reporting violations for turbidity and chlorine, and failure to conduct source water monitoring. This AO addressed violations spanning seven months, though the PWS has not been consistently compliant for over two years. The AO requires Respondent to monitor turbidity and chlorine, and maintain turbidity below the national standard. Since the AO, Respondent has not officially responded to EPA Region 6 and has not made progress in achieving compliance. The APO proposes a penalty.

Defendants (1)

• Pine River MDCANamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• PINE RIVER MDCA

  P.O. BOX 1555, IGNACIO, CO, 81137

  Registry ID: 110063599770

• PINE RIVER MDCA

  NM

  Registry ID: 110049069681

Statutes cited

• SDWA 1414G — PWS - Violation of 1414(g) AO
• SDWA 1412/1414 — National Drinking Water Regulations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Pine River MDCAentered 2017-02-16

  Primary law: SDWA

  Federal penalty: $800

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2016-08-12Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2016-09-27Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2017-02-16Final Order Issued
• 2017-04-17Compliance Achieved
• 2017-04-17Enforcement Action Closed