Wastewater Enforcement: Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality and Town of Gloster Enter into Agreed Order

The Mississippi Commission on Environmental Quality (“MCEQ”) and Town of Gloster, Mississippi entered into a July 8th Agreed Order (“AO”) addressing alleged violations of the Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Permit. See Order No. 7336 24.

Gloster is stated to own and operate a wastewater treatment facility.

The facility is stated to operate pursuant to a Mississippi Environmental Quality Permit Board NPDES Permit (“Permit”). The Permit allows the facility to discharge a monthly average of 190 thousand gallons a day of treated wastewater to an unnamed creek, then into Beaver Creek.

The Gloster facility is stated to have submitted a Discharge Monitoring Report (“DMR”) on January 17th for the 2023 monitoring period. It reported that it discharged a maximum monthly average of 383 thousand gallons per day during 2023. This is stated to have exceeded the discharge limitation of 190 thousand gallons.

The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is stated to have received on April 18th from Gloster an application to amend its NPDES Permit. The application proposed an increase in the design flow rate to 300 thousand gallons per day and the relocation of the discharge directly into Beaver Creek.

The AO states that should Gloster be awarded Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality State Revolving Fund and American Rescue Plan Act funds by October 31st, it shall complete the following tasks and notify the state agency of its completion by September 1, 2025:

1. Install four (4) floating aerators into the existing treatment lagoons at Gloster POTW;
2. Install pH adjustment chemical equipment for injection into the existing treatment lagoons at Gloster POTW;
3. Complete construction of the splitter box, gravity sewer main, and pre-cast manholes at Gloster POTW;
4. Install a diffused aeration system at the chlorine contact chamber at Gloster POTW;
5. Complete construction of a 400 gallon per minute triplex lift station at Gloster POTW; and
6. Complete construction of sewer force main and appurtenances to relocate the discharge of lagoon effluent to Beaver Creek at the location specified in the NPDES Permit application submitted to MDEQ on April 18, 2024.

If Gloster fails to obtain such funds by October 31st, it is required to notify the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality’s Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Division. Further, if Gloster fails to comply with any of the requirements established in Section 2.A. of this AO, it is required to pay a stipulated penalty of $500.00.

A copy of the AO can be downloaded here.