A manhole cover in Mobile, Ala. overflows after heavy rains on Aug. 16, 2016. (FILE)FILE, Courtesy Mobile Baykeeper
An Alabama water utility that was raided by the FBI earlier this year as part of a corruption probe has agreed to settle 285 alleged water pollution violations from two wastewater treatment plants.
The Prichard Water Works and Sewer Board -- already the subject of an “all-encompassing” law enforcement probe into allegations of corruption and theft -- has agreed to pay $234,675 to the state of Alabama to settle the violations, which occurred between 2020 and 2022 at the Carlos Morris Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Stanley Brooks Wastewater Treatment Plant.
That fine was just shy of the $250,000 maximum amount that the Alabama Department of Environmental Management can impose in a single order.
ADEM announced the proposed consent order with the utility last week resolving the violations, some of which it said were easily avoidable.
“The Permittee could have easily avoided some of the violations cited herein by conducting required monitoring and recordkeeping; submitting timely [discharge reports]; and performing easily implemented maintenance,” the order said. “In consideration of the standard of care manifested by the Permittee, the Department enhanced the penalty.”
Of the 285 total violations, 171 stemmed from sewer overflows in the small city just north of Mobile, as well as 106 effluent permit limit violations, as well as violations involving record keeping, water testing, and reporting sewer overflows immediately.
ADEM inspections of the two plants uncovered numerous issues, including drying beds overgrown with vegetation, algae buildup in tubing, and at the Brooks plant “the facility appeared to be behind schedule in having dried sludge removed.”
The order also requires the Water Board to create a sewer overflow response plan that includes timely public notification, to make certain improvements at the two treatment plants and to operate those plants within the limits of their permits.
The Brooks plant discharges into Eightmile Creek, while the Morris plant discharges into Three Mile Creek. Both are Mobile River tributaries.
“The Department has determined that the terms contemplated in this Consent Order are in the best interests of the citizens of Alabama,” the order said.
According to ADEM, several mandatory reports to the department were filed months late, including one monthly monitoring report that was filed 138 days late.
ADEM also considered Prichard Water Works’ history of violations in determining the penalty amount, citing previous notices of violation issued to the utility in 2019 and 2020.
”The Department has compromised the amount of the penalty the Department believes is warranted in this matter in the spirit of cooperation and desire to resolve this matter amicably, without incurring the unwarranted expense of litigation,” the order said.
The order was signed by Prichard Water Board Chairman Russell Heidelberg. An attorney representing the Water Board did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
The consent order is just the latest legal issue confronting the Water Board this year.
One former Prichard Water Works manager has been charged with theft and theft by deception after allegedly using a Water Works credit card to purchase personal items as well as trips to New York, Chicago and the Sandestin resort in Florida.
Authorities say they seized more than $200,000 in goods from the manager’s home in February, including Gucci bags and firearms. Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, also raided the Water Works offices in February.
When the probe was announced in February, Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said that the investigation stretched beyond potential misuse of credit cards.
“This is all encompassing,” Rich said. “There are allegations that property was bought and allegations that other things were bought through other banking and financial mechanisms. That’s what makes this so large.”
Just a few weeks before the raid, the Prichard Water Board applied for $333 million in federal infrastructure grants to repair its sewer and drinking water systems, the largest such request in the state.
Those applications are being evaluated by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which will award $1 billion in federal infrastructure grants to utilities across the state with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, both passed in 2021.
Supplemental Environmental Project proposed in lieu of payment
According to the order, the Water Board has elected to complete a supplemental environmental project to resolve a portion of the fine rather than paying cash.
The Water Board must still pay $78,225 in cash to the state, but for every $3 spent on the supplemental environmental project, $1 will go to pay off the rest of the fine. If the project is not completed, or costs less than $469,350, the Water Board may still owe the state additional fine money.
The project proposed by the Water Board involves “repairing or replacing private lateral lines that connect to the sewer lines owned and operated by the [Water Works].”
The Water Board has 30 days from the date of the consent order to submit more detailed plans about the supplemental project to ADEM.
The proposed consent order is still up for public comment through August 7.
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