KDHE Home - News 1999 - News Release

Kansas
Department of Health & Environment
Bill Graves, Governor
Clyde D. Graeber, Secretary

November 28, 1999

Contact: Sharon Watson, 785-296-1529

City of Belle Plaine Fined $30,000 for Waste Water Violations

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued an administrative order requiring the City of Belle Plaine to pay a $30,000 penalty for violating state waste water treatment regulations.

The violations were documented during an August 11-13 inspection of the city's waste water treatment plant. Violations included:

• failure to properly maintain the plant, which resulted in effluent discharges that exceeded limits set forth in the plant's operating permit;
• failure to notify KDHE of plant outages and bypasses from the collection system, as required by law;
• failure to sample and test the effluent and report the results to KDHE, as required by law;
• failure to take actions to minimize any adverse impact to state waters, as required by the permit.

The city has appealed the order to the Secretary of Health and Environment. The date of the administrative hearing is yet to be determined.

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