Koster
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced on Monday that he has filed a lawsuit against a couple for allegedly violating the state's Clean Water Law.
Robert and Brenda Watkins, the owners and operators of a wastewater treatment facility that serves the six-duplex residential facility known as Emerald Court Duplexes, allegedly violated numerous sections of the law.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources alleged that effluent from the facility flowed into a tributary to the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Watkins allegedly failed to renew the permit on the treatment facility and did not comply with effluent limits. The couple also failed to keep the wastewater treatment facility free of vegetation and never installed a required flow measurement mechanism, Koster says.
"Missourians 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 is seeking a court injunction to require the couple to fully comply with the Clean Water Law. He wants a civil penalty assessed for each violation of the Clean Water Law, not to exceed $10,000 per day. Koster is also seeking all costs associated with the litigation.