EPA penalizes Town of Coulee Dam over $70,000 for Clean Water Act violations

Summary:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the Town of Coulee Dam, Washington has agreed to pay a penalty of $70,881 for violating the Clean Water Act through its wastewater treatment plant. The plant failed to meet several requirements of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, including submitting monthly Discharge Monitoring Reports, notifying EPA and the Colville Tribes of its Operations and Maintenance Plan, and providing the correct location of the discharge point. EPA investigations began in 2019 when the plant failed to submit required reports, which are crucial for tracking pollution discharged into the Columbia River. As a result, the plant's compliance with its permit and treatment of wastewater could not be effectively monitored.