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Bar Development fined $15,000 for violating Safe Drinking Water Act

Release Date: 05/17/2006
Contact Information: Eric Winiecki, (206) 553-6904, [email protected] Tony Brown, (206) 553-1203, [email protected]

(Bridgeport, WA – May 17, 2006) The Bar Development drinking water system has been ordered to pay a $15,000 penalty for violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) including failing to conduct adequate monitoring and failing to report to their customers on the quality of their drinking water. The system, located in Bridgeport, Washington, has 25 service connections and serves approximately 29 people.

The Washington State Department of Health referred the system to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2003 because it repeatedly failed to test its water for contaminants and would not respond to state officials. To date, the system has still not complied with state and federal laws.

Customers on the system have been advised to boil their water before drinking it until monitoring and reporting is routinely accomplished.

“Without proper monitoring and reporting, there is no way to know if the water is safe to drink,” said Marie Jennings, Manager of EPA Region 10’s Drinking Water Program. “It’s very important that drinking water systems like Bar Development monitor their water regularly as required by law.”

In December 2003, EPA issued an administrative order to people and entities responsible for the drinking water system, including Patrick E. Anson, Robert Allgood, Maria Del Rosario Arevalo and Bar Development Water Users Association.

Violations cited in the order included the following: failure to monitor for total coliform, volatile organic compounds, lead and copper; failure to submit operator reports of free chlorine residual; failure to retain the services of a certified operator; failure to prepare, distribute and certify Consumer Confidence Reports (annual water quality reports); failure to issue public notices of violations; and failure to notify the Department of Health of violations.

The system must still conduct the required monitoring. If it fails to do so, the State or EPA could initiate further civil enforcement proceedings.

Region 10 Water website (yosemite.epa.gov/R10/WATER.NSF/)