Failure to Meet Court Order Results in $40,000 Fine for Guam Waterworks Authority
EPA fined the Guam Waterworks Authority (GWA) $40,000 for failing to
fully comply with a 2003 court order to repair and improve its
wastewater system, the agency announced on Sept. 4.
GWA failed to meet April and June 2007 deadlines for the Agana
sewage treatment plant and a May 2007 deadline for the northern
district plant to ensure compliance with federal permit limits from
these two facilities.
"GWA needs to comply with the order to determine the proper level of
wastewater treatment it needs to meet its federal permits," said Alexis
Strauss, EPA Region 9 director for water programs. "This step and
renovating the pump stations will go a long way to ensuring properly
treated wastewater for Guam."
In May, GWA informed the EPA the compliance determination for Agana
would be completed in February 2008 and the northern district in July
2008, over a year after the court-ordered deadlines requiring GWA to
demonstrate that these renovated facilities can comply with their
federal permit limits. GWA recently completed a full renovation of its
Agana sewage treatment plant and a partial renovation of its northern
district sewage treatment plant.
GWA also needed to complete renovations at the Agana main sewer pump
station by June 2007 but informed the EPA that work was delayed and the
scheduled completion date would be over a year past the deadline in
September 2008.
The stipulated order requires penalties to be assessed for the
missed deadlines and provides for additional penalties until the work
is complete.
Guam's wastewater treatment system is being upgraded to ensure
proper disposal of treated wastewater and to prevent any spills and
overflows, EPA officials said.