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EPA Orders Public Water System on Indian Reservation in Riverside County to Address Arsenic in Drinking Water

Release Date: 09/10/2013
Contact Information: Nahal Mogharabi, [email protected], 213-244-1815

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week ordered D&D Mobile Home Park to address violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. D&D, located on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation in Riverside County, was found to have high levels of arsenic in its public system that provides drinking water to its 300 mobile park residents. The order requires D&D to come into compliance with the arsenic drinking water standard as well as conduct more consistent arsenic monitoring.

Sampling data showed arsenic at concentrations as high as 0.059 milligrams per liter—almost six times the EPA’s maximum contamination levels for arsenic. Sampling data also showed the presence of coliform bacteria.

D&D is a privately owned and operated system on the Indian Reservation. The order requires D&D to submit, within 90 days, a written plan for EPA review that will demonstrate the mobile park’s strategy to bring the water system into compliance with the federal arsenic standard by December 31, 2014. Quarterly arsenic water sampling is also required. The penalty for not complying with the terms of the order can be up to $37,500 per day based on federal statutory law.

For more information on the Safe Drinking Water Act, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/rulesregs/sdwa/index.cfm