Idaho City to pay $3,500 to Resolve Federal Clean Water Act Violations

The City of Marsing, Idaho, has reached a $3,500 settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for alleged Clean Water Act violations. The City owns and operates a permitted wastewater treatment facility that discharges treated wastewater into the Snake River.

Between May 2002 and June 2006, the facility had numerous effluent limit violations. Permit violations occurred when the discharge from the City’s facility exceeded limits set for fecal coliform bacteria, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total suspended solids (TSS), E. coli and total residual chlorine.

According to James Werntz, Idaho operations office director for EPA, wastewater treatment plants can degrade Idaho’s water quality if permits limits are exceeded.

“Cities like Marsing provide a valuable service to their community by treating wastewater, but they need to strictly follow their permit limits,” said Werntz. “Otherwise rivers like the Snake can be needlessly harmed by pollutants. We’re gratified to hear that the City is investing in its system for the future.”

Marsing’s wastewater treatment facility is part of a sanitary sewer system that receives domestic wastewater from residential and commercial sources. The facility serves a community of approximately 990 people.

The NPDES permit program, a key part of the federal Clean Water Act, controls water pollution by regulating sources that discharge pollutants to waters in the United States.

Source: EPA