Ohio Fines Ft. Scott Company for Plant Spec Changes
In a settlement with Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ft. Scott Development has agreed to improve a plant that it built and pay a $41,000 penalty for modifying the Hamilton County wastewater treatment plant's design, in violation of its permit.
The company began developing the former Camp Fort Scott into a series of residential areas in 2007. But when the first residents took occupancy of their homes before the wastewater treatment plant was complete, the company diverted sewage generated in those homes into holding tanks. This was a violation of Fort Scott's permit and Ohio EPA issued an order to address this violation in 2007. After that, Ohio EPA discovered additional permit violations as the company made a number of design changes to the plant without getting the necessary approvals.
The facility's discharge structure was built on a highly erodible bluff along the Great Miami River. Because of this, special considerations were taken in the plans the agency initially approved. However, these specifications were not followed.
Ft. Scott must submit plans to the agency, receive approval for how it plans to correct these problems, and adhere to a schedule for completing the plant improvements. This order replaces the one issued in 2007.
Of the $41,000 penalty, $8,200 will be used to fund Ohio EPA's Clean Diesel School Bus Fund. Of the remaining penalty, $16,400 will go to the Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water; the remaining $16,400 will go to Ohio EPA's Office of Environmental Education Funding to administer environmental education grants and scholarships. A copy of the orders can be found on the Web at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/enforcement/FortScott2008.pdf.