City of Driggs, Idaho pays $400K penalty for Clean Water Act violations, agrees to wastewater facility upgrade

City of Driggs, Idaho pays $400K penalty for Clean Water Act violations, agrees to wastewater facility upgrade

January 16, 2025

SEATTLE -The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Justice, the state of Idaho, and the City of Driggs, Idaho have agreed on a series of measures the city will undertake to address chronic violations of the Clean Water Act, including a major upgrade of its wastewater treatment plant. The upgraded facility is estimated to cost $25 million and must be complete by December 15, 2028.

In a consent decreewith EPA, DOJ, and the state of Idaho, the city will also pay a $400,000 penalty for ongoing failures to comply with its Clean Water Act permit and failing to meet compliance obligations it committed to in a 2018 legal agreement with the EPA. In 2018, the city also paid a penalty of $13,500 for violations of its permit.

However, after the city failed to meet the compliance deadlines in the 2018 legal agreement, DOJ, on behalf of EPA, filed a complaint on October 24, 2022, alleging the city exceeded its permit limits for ammonia, E. coli, biological oxygen demand, and pH thousands of times.

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.

In addition to upgrading its wastewater treatment facility, the city must also:

• Submit an updated Quality Assurance Plan by March 1, 2025;
• Conduct collection system monitoring, including monitoring flow from the city of Victor that contributes wastewater to the Driggs wastewater treatment plant;
• Sample influent to the treatment plant and sample effluent from the lagoon monthly;
• Annually measure the amount of sewage sludge in the lagoons and manage sludge as needed;
• Continue its efforts to locate and quantify sources of inflow and infiltration during periods of high groundwater levels;
• Develop a staffing plan and hire sufficient staff; and
• Every three months, submit a report describing progress and challenges in meeting the consent decree requirements.

"All communities are expected to fully comply with the laws meant to protect the environment we all rely on," said EPA Region 10 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Director Ed Kowalski. "This settlement is an example of a small municipality recognizing the need to step up and committing to overdue upgrades to its infrastructure to comply with the Clean Water Act and protect important water resources."