City of Unalaska Agrees to Extensive Sewer
System Upgrade in Federal Settlement
Contacts: DOJ
(202) 514-2007; EPA (202) 564-4355; TDD (866) 544-5309; TDD (202) 514-1888; www.justice.gov
WASHINGTON –
The city of Unalaska, Alaska, will undertake a major upgrade of its municipal
sewage treatment plant under a settlement of a Clean Water Act enforcement
action filed against the city and the state of Alaska by the Department of
Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Under the
proposed settlement, Unalaska will spend at least $18 million to upgrade its
treatment plant over the next three years to meet the requirements of its
current National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, which
was issued by EPA under the Clean Water Act. The city has also committed to
adhere to fecal coliform limits that are 50 times more stringent than the
current permit’s limits.
The Clean Water
Act lawsuit, filed in June 2011, alleged that the city continually violated its
NPDES permit by discharging pollutants into South Unalaska Bay in excess of
discharge permit limits. According to monitoring reports that the City is
required to file with EPA, Unalaska’s treatment plant had more than 5,500
violations of permit limits between October 2004 and September 2011, including
discharges of harmful fecal coliform bacteria that were often more than double
the permit limit.
The treatment
plant upgrade will significantly reduce the level of pollution, including fecal
coliform bacteria, being discharged into Unalaska Bay, which is part of the
Bering Sea. The city will also pay a $340,000 penalty for past NPDES permit
violations.
“This agreement
will result in cleaner water in Unalaska Bay, which is home to a vital
commercial fishery as well as protected wildlife,” said Ignacia S. Moreno,
Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of
the Department of Justice. “Unalaska residents and the fishermen who depend on
the Bay will be the beneficiaries of this agreement for many years to come.”
Edward
Kowalski, director of EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle,
noted that today’s agreement paves the way for a long-overdue enhancement of the
City’s primary wastewater treatment process.
“Today’s
settlement represents an investment in Unalaska’s future,” said EPA’s Kowalski.
“By agreeing to modernize its wastewater treatment plant, the City of Unalaska
will help protect the waters of Unalaska Bay and meet current discharge permit
limits.”
With a
year-round population of approximately 4,400, Unalaska (commonly known as Dutch
Harbor), is Alaska’s 11th largest city. Lying roughly 800 miles southwest of
Anchorage in the Aleutian Island chain, Dutch Harbor serves as homeport to one
of the nation’s most productive commercial fishing fleets, supporting both
industrial-scale fishing and fish processing. During the height of the fishing
season, Unalaska’s population more than doubles, reaching as high as
10,000.
Unalaska Bay is
protected for a number of uses, including boating, recreational and commercial
fishing, and shellfish harvest. It also provides habitat for several endangered
or threatened species, including northern sea otters and Steller’s eiders, a
species of sea duck. However, the Bay is currently listed as an impaired
water-body, which means it fails to meet state water quality
standards.
As required by
the Clean Water Act, the State of Alaska must be a party to this action. The
Department of Justice will be taking public comment on the settlement for a
period of 30-days from publication of a notice of the settlement, which should
appear shortly in the Federal Register. After resolution of all comments
received, the settlement will be entered in federal court. It will take effect
on the day it is entered by the court. A copy of the settlement agreement can be
obtained at: www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
