Warsaw, IDEM Hashing Out Treatment Plant Violations
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The city of Warsaw has entered into negotiations with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management regarding violations at the wastewater treatment plant last summer.
"It's a situation all of us wish didn't happen, but it did happen," Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said Wednesday about the spill into Walnut Creek from the West Center Street facility.
"We're taking steps to do everything they're asking," he said of last week's meeting between IDEM water quality and legal representatives along with Wiggins, Jerry Patterson of the city council and city attorney Mike Valentine. The city is further represented by the Indianapolis firm of Pleus & Shadley Racher & Braun's Curt DeVoe.
Wiggins said the state's environmental watchdogs have come up with a shocking initial penalty for the list of violations presented by IDEM in October.
Typically, fines are significantly reduced, if not erased, as the municipality or company attends to IDEM's remediation mandates in a timely manner.
A final agreed order between the city and IDEM may be months in the making.
One thing IDEM is asking is restoration of Walnut Creek. Currently, Triad engineers are assessing the amount of sewage dumped into the waterway, what form it has taken now and clean-up methods.
"Any penalty reduction will be greatly impacted by how quickly we step up to the plate," Wiggins said. "We certainly won't shirk our responsibility. We're taking the steps they're asking us to take.
"They would rather not impose fines. IDEM wants you to get it fixed. The fines are set to get your attention."
The summer spill occurred when sludge was "recirculated," or sent back through the treatment area. Apparently the material was broken down to fine particles, which escaped into the creek.
The spill was toxic enough to severely injure or kill aquatic life, animals and plants. The bacteria that breaks down waste in the plant was destroyed.
The 15-count notice of violations indicates records were improperly kept or falsified; a Toxicity Reduction Evaluation procedure, ordered in 1997 and designed to last three years, showed at least 27 failed tests; and hauled and industrial waste was routinely accepted without adequate pretreatment.
In the meantime, the city has taken action to rectify problems at the wastewater treatment facility and has been operating within the parameters of its NPDES permit.
Richard Denny of Jones & Henry Engineering began work at the facility in December and serves as the Class IV operator, responsible for daily reports.
As public works superintendent, Lacy Francis Jr. is responsible for all documentation.
The city's former Class IV operator, David Van Dyke, is still an employee of the facility.
Another Jones and Henry engineer, Doug Bookhart, is also working at the plant.
Earlier this month, Warsaw Board of Works approved a contract with Richard Huyck, director of the Muncie Sanitary District, to make recommendations regarding the wastewater treatment plant laboratory, testing procedures and personnel training.
"I've told Richard if he needs assets, he'll get them," Wiggins said.
A second $20-million wastewater treatment facility is under construction on CR 150N. It is not expected to be operational until 2005. [[In-content Ad]]
The city of Warsaw has entered into negotiations with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management regarding violations at the wastewater treatment plant last summer.
"It's a situation all of us wish didn't happen, but it did happen," Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said Wednesday about the spill into Walnut Creek from the West Center Street facility.
"We're taking steps to do everything they're asking," he said of last week's meeting between IDEM water quality and legal representatives along with Wiggins, Jerry Patterson of the city council and city attorney Mike Valentine. The city is further represented by the Indianapolis firm of Pleus & Shadley Racher & Braun's Curt DeVoe.
Wiggins said the state's environmental watchdogs have come up with a shocking initial penalty for the list of violations presented by IDEM in October.
Typically, fines are significantly reduced, if not erased, as the municipality or company attends to IDEM's remediation mandates in a timely manner.
A final agreed order between the city and IDEM may be months in the making.
One thing IDEM is asking is restoration of Walnut Creek. Currently, Triad engineers are assessing the amount of sewage dumped into the waterway, what form it has taken now and clean-up methods.
"Any penalty reduction will be greatly impacted by how quickly we step up to the plate," Wiggins said. "We certainly won't shirk our responsibility. We're taking the steps they're asking us to take.
"They would rather not impose fines. IDEM wants you to get it fixed. The fines are set to get your attention."
The summer spill occurred when sludge was "recirculated," or sent back through the treatment area. Apparently the material was broken down to fine particles, which escaped into the creek.
The spill was toxic enough to severely injure or kill aquatic life, animals and plants. The bacteria that breaks down waste in the plant was destroyed.
The 15-count notice of violations indicates records were improperly kept or falsified; a Toxicity Reduction Evaluation procedure, ordered in 1997 and designed to last three years, showed at least 27 failed tests; and hauled and industrial waste was routinely accepted without adequate pretreatment.
In the meantime, the city has taken action to rectify problems at the wastewater treatment facility and has been operating within the parameters of its NPDES permit.
Richard Denny of Jones & Henry Engineering began work at the facility in December and serves as the Class IV operator, responsible for daily reports.
As public works superintendent, Lacy Francis Jr. is responsible for all documentation.
The city's former Class IV operator, David Van Dyke, is still an employee of the facility.
Another Jones and Henry engineer, Doug Bookhart, is also working at the plant.
Earlier this month, Warsaw Board of Works approved a contract with Richard Huyck, director of the Muncie Sanitary District, to make recommendations regarding the wastewater treatment plant laboratory, testing procedures and personnel training.
"I've told Richard if he needs assets, he'll get them," Wiggins said.
A second $20-million wastewater treatment facility is under construction on CR 150N. It is not expected to be operational until 2005. [[In-content Ad]]