DOJ Fines NY State $150,000 for Safe Drinking Water Act Violations

The US Department of Justice on December 20 proposed a consent judgement against three defendants for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The defendants in this judgement are New York State; the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.


According to DOJ, the defendants continued to operate 54 Large Capacity Cesspools (LCCs) after the deadline to close them. Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, specifically the Class V Underground Injection Control (UIC) regulations at 40 CFR 144.82(b) and 144.88(a), operators of LCCs were required to close them by April 5, 2016. 

As part of the judgement, DOJ has proposed a $150,000 civil penalty. In addition, DOJ has proposed Supplemental Environmental Projects with a value of more than $1 million. The defendants must close the remaining LCCs or convert them to non-LCC uses by July 2019.

See the Consent Decree in the Federal Register here.

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Tags: Act, Clean, EPA, fines and penalties, Safe Drinking Water Act, Water