Goddard
PHOENIX (Legal Newsline) - Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced on Monday that his office has reached a $500,000 settlement with a water and sewer company and a developer who were charged with numerous water and air quality violations.
Under terms of the settlement, Far West Water and Sewer, Inc., and H&S Developers, Inc., will each pay $150,000 in penalties for the alleged violations in Yuma County.
Far West must also perform a $150,000 supplemental environmental project that will remove water from sludge at its wastewater treatment plant in Del Oro. The company will also donate $20,000 to riparian restoration efforts in the Yuma East Wetlands project.
Both companies were charged with a numerous violations, resulting in a 50-count lawsuit. The violations included not having proper operating permits, using reclaimed water for golf course irrigation without required authorization and not notifying officials about permit violations in a timely manner.
"Water and wastewater companies need to rigorously comply with state standards," Goddard said. "Far West didn't and there's a heavy price to pay for this serious lack of oversight."
Before April 1998, H&S and Far West operated as one company.