On February 5, 2025, the Director of ECAD, Region 3, entered into an AOC with the Central Columbia School District ( Respondent ) for alleged violations of its Pennsylvania National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ( NPDES ) Permit No. PA0031852 ( the Permit ). Respondent is the owner and/or operator of a domestic treatment wastewater plant ( WWTP ) located at 4777 Old Berwick Road, Bloomsburg, PA (the Facility ). The Facility treats and discharges domestic sewage through Outfall 001 at the Facility into an unnamed tributary that is a relatively permanent water that connects to the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna River is a Traditional Navigable Water. Violations identified at the Facility include Permit exceedances for biological oxygen demand (BOD), nitrogen, fecal coliform and suspended solids. Additionally, Respondent failed to properly operate and monitor the Facility and failed to take representative samples.
Respondent has agreed to, among other things, retain a Professional Engineer to evaluate the processes and infrastructure of the WWTP, to retain an environmental consultant to perform related compliance sampling at the Facility's outfalls and internal monitoring points, and to develop a plan and a schedule for implementing corrective actions.
EPA has coordinated with PADEP throughout the enforcement process.