EPA Fines Knoxville Utilites Board $68,500 For 159 Sewage Spills Over 4 Yrs - Or, $427/Spill

[hatrack]

The Environmental Protection Agency has assessed a $68,050 fine against the Knoxville Utilities Board for 159 discharges of untreated sewage that have occurred over the last four years. KUB, which is under a federal mandate to comply with the Clean Water Act, anticipates it will face such penalties until it can complete its efforts to eliminate the sewage overflows, said Bill Elmore, KUB senior vice president and chief operating officer. But it has made considerable progress, Elmore said.

"These penalties serve as an incentive to make us focus on our project and complete the work that needs to be done," he said.

While the penalties involve overflows that happened from April 1, 2005, to March 31, 2009, Elmore said KUB has been able to reduce the number of sewage overflows by 70 percent from 2004 to 2008. KUB has until 2016 to complete various projects to reduce overflows. To do so, KUB launched its Partners Acting for a Cleaner Environment (PACE 10) program in 2004. The 10-year, $530 million project is designed to upgrade the sewer system, clean up waterways and keep pace with increasingly strict regulatory requirements. Ratepayers' bills have been increased to pay for project costs.

As work continues, the EPA is allowed to assess penalties for overflows. Under a consent decree, the EPA could have fined KUB $85,550 for the discharges but is allowed some discretion. The federal agency reduced the fine after KUB reported on its progress, Elmore said.

EDIT

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/nov/11/epa-fines-kub-for-overflows-of-raw-sewage/

[wishlist]

1. Probably cost will just be passed on to consumers, not penalize managers nt