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