EPA’s Notice Of Violation Is A Paperwork Problem, According To Holbrook Officials

By Linda Kor
   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered the City of Holbrook to comply with its wastewater permit after the city failed to respond to a state-issued notice of violation.
   According to information provided by the EPA, the order follows nearly two years of attempts by state and federal regulators to bring the city into compliance. Holbrook failed to submit monthly discharge reports for 23 consecutive months and failed to submit monitoring reports characterizing the quality of its treated wastewater, both violations of mandatory terms in the city’s permit.
   “Compliance is a serious issue, but this issue has been a result of a paper trail miscommunication,” stated City Manager Carlo Pilgrim.
   “Holbrook must comply with all conditions of its wastewater permit, including the required monitoring and reporting,” said Alexis Strauss, the EPA’s Water Division director for the Pacific Southwest Region. “Dischargers are responsible for water quality monitoring to show us and the public they’re complying with their permit and protecting Arizona’s waters.”
   The order requires the city to submit all missing records and reports within 30 days and come into compliance with its wastewater permit. In addition, within 60 days, the city must submit a report detailing all costs associated with complying with the order.
   According to Chief Operator Lance Spencer of the Painted Mesa Water Reclamation Facility, it amounts to a paperwork issue. “We have submitted the paperwork requested and then a month later we were told that the information was not complete,” stated Spencer. “I have all the paperwork that they require in front of me and will submit it tomorrow (June 16) to the EPA.”
   Spencer said that all testing of the water is current, and that there is no is no issue regarding the testing itself, noting that there has been no discharge into the Leroux Wash since last year.