Koster
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has filed lawsuits against four wastewater treatment facilities for alleged violations of the state's Clean Water Act.
In each case, Koster is asking the court to issue permanent injunctions requiring the defendants to comply with the Clean Water Law and to assess a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 per day for each violation. Koster is also seeking an upgrade to each facility to be in compliance with the law and payment of all costs associated with the cases.
"Misourians have a right to expect that waste systems are installed in compliance with the law so they won't pollute our water," Koster said. "Our office will not look the other way when businesses fail to comply with the law."
Koster's lawsuits name Wheelhouse Marina, Admirals Point LLC, Taho-Ozark Land Investment LLC, and J Bar H Estates Master Association Inc.
Wheelhouse Marina, based in Lake Ozark, Mo., owns and operates an extended aeration wastewater treatment system designed for a population of 78. The attorney general said that the company did not submit the required reports and did not install a dechlorination system as required by law. He also alleges that Wheelhouse violated the law by collecting water samples from a contact chamber rather than a sampling port and served more people than allowed.
Admirals Point LLC, which owns and operates a recirculating sand filter wastewater treatment system in Climax Springs, Mo., that discharges to the Lake of the Ozark, is charged with failing to renew its operating permit on time and for not submitting required monthly monitoring reports.
Tahoe-Ozark Land Investment LLC, which owns and operates an extended aeration wastewater treatment system that serves Captains Galley, a restaurant located in Camdenton, Mo., is charged with installing an ultraviolet disinfection system instead of the dechlorination system that was required. The company is also charged with not maintaining the facility, allowing buildup of sludge and corrosion and allowing sediment and trash to clog the weir trough.
The Camdenton, Mo.-based J Bar H Estates Master Association Inc., which owns and operates a recirculating sand filter wastewater treatment facility that discharges to an unnamed tributary to Racetrack Hollow and then to the Lake of the Ozarks, is charged with exceeding permit limits on Fecal Coliform and for the presence of E. coli detected in their water. The company also allegedly failed to install a dechlorination system in time.