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EPA seeks Gunnison discharge information
Release Date: 10/2/2000
Contact Information:
303-312-6359,
Release Date: 10/2/2000
Contact Information:
303-312-6893,
Release Date: 10/2/2000
Contact Information:
(800) 227-8917 ext. 6603
- Denver -- Wastewater from the public works shops of the City of Gunnison at 1100-1200 West Virginia Avenue may be polluting Tomichi Creek and the Gunnison River with waste oil and other contaminants according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Today, the Agency issued orders for the City to permanently disable, by October 31, any shop drains or pipes that ultimately discharge to the river.
The order also requires the City to provide by that date information that will allow EPA to evaluate "the frequency and nature of possible additional discharges of pollutants" from the shops. Specifically, the Agency wants a diagram of all buildings on the site, their sumps, drains or pipes and their discharge points and a narrative of functions or processes performed in each building.
The Agency also called for a description of the wastewater produced by each function, a list of chemicals used in each building, a list of drains that have been rerouted or disconnected since their construction, a history of known or suspected spills or discharges, water use records and a list of costs the City may have incurred to prevent discharges.
Responding originally to a citizen’s complaint about an oily sheen on ponds downstream from the shops, EPA alleges that the shops discharged wastewater without a permit on at least two occasions, in 1998 and 1999. Such discharges violate the nation’s Clean Water Act.
For additional information, contact Monica Heimdal at (303) 312-6359 or (800) 227-8917 ext. 6359 or Jim Eppers, (303) 312-6893 or (800) 227-8917, ext.6893.
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