Local Officials Await Word From IDEM, EPA On Sewer Probe
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
All the Warsaw mayor and city attorney can do is guess what the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency have in store.
The Warsaw wastewater treatment plant has been hit with a number of violations resulting from a sewage spill into Walnut Creek this past summer. In July, August and September, sludge and untreated or partially treated wastewater - quantities of surficant, polymer, whole effluent and diesel fuel - killed fish and left a deposit of sludge in the stream bed, extending to the Tippecanoe River.
"We'll meet with IDEM within the first 10 days of December," said Mayor Ernie Wiggins. "They've drafted a proposed settlement agreement, which we haven't seen, and we'll find out what they're wanting."
IDEM and the EPA are two different issues, according to city attorney Mike Valentine.
The EPA is conducting a criminal investigation.
Federal and state investigators removed lab test results and reports and copied the computer hard drives at the wastewater treatment plant offices Oct. 31.
According to IDEM's Oct. 29-issued notice of violations, authorities were not notified of the spill within 24 hours, did not take reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on the creek, failed to maintain equipment, used invalid sampling methods and failed to keep accurate records, thereby falsifying reports.
Additionally, regular industrial waste was not tested for pretreatment, causing chronic and ongoing toxicity of the effluent, according to the IDEM report.
"The Assistant U.S. Attorney General's office will submit evidence to the grand jury," Valentine said, "maybe two or three times. This thing could stretch out for months.
"Potentially, the city and individuals could be charged, but no charges have been filed."
Dave Van Dyke is the class IV operator of the wastewater treatment plant, responsible for all reports to IDEM and the EPA. Lacy Francis Jr. is the public works superintendent.
Thirty people are employed by the sewage department.
"We'll have a clearer view when we meet with IDEM," Wiggins said. [[In-content Ad]]
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All the Warsaw mayor and city attorney can do is guess what the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency have in store.
The Warsaw wastewater treatment plant has been hit with a number of violations resulting from a sewage spill into Walnut Creek this past summer. In July, August and September, sludge and untreated or partially treated wastewater - quantities of surficant, polymer, whole effluent and diesel fuel - killed fish and left a deposit of sludge in the stream bed, extending to the Tippecanoe River.
"We'll meet with IDEM within the first 10 days of December," said Mayor Ernie Wiggins. "They've drafted a proposed settlement agreement, which we haven't seen, and we'll find out what they're wanting."
IDEM and the EPA are two different issues, according to city attorney Mike Valentine.
The EPA is conducting a criminal investigation.
Federal and state investigators removed lab test results and reports and copied the computer hard drives at the wastewater treatment plant offices Oct. 31.
According to IDEM's Oct. 29-issued notice of violations, authorities were not notified of the spill within 24 hours, did not take reasonable steps to minimize adverse effects on the creek, failed to maintain equipment, used invalid sampling methods and failed to keep accurate records, thereby falsifying reports.
Additionally, regular industrial waste was not tested for pretreatment, causing chronic and ongoing toxicity of the effluent, according to the IDEM report.
"The Assistant U.S. Attorney General's office will submit evidence to the grand jury," Valentine said, "maybe two or three times. This thing could stretch out for months.
"Potentially, the city and individuals could be charged, but no charges have been filed."
Dave Van Dyke is the class IV operator of the wastewater treatment plant, responsible for all reports to IDEM and the EPA. Lacy Francis Jr. is the public works superintendent.
Thirty people are employed by the sewage department.
"We'll have a clearer view when we meet with IDEM," Wiggins said. [[In-content Ad]]