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PHOENIX TO PAY LARGEST DRINKING WATER FINE IN STATE HISTORY

Release Date: 8/31/2000
Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

     City Also To Complete Safe Drinking Water Projects
     
     SAN FRANCISCO  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality today announced that the city of Phoenix has agreed to pay penalties and to complete safe drinking water projects totaling more than $1.6 million for failing to consistently comply with state and federal regulations on drinking water monitoring and reporting between 1993 and 1996.

     The settlement includes a $350,000 civil penalty to be divided equally between the United States and the State of Arizona and two Supplemental Environmental Projects totaling $1.26 million.  Phoenix, in conjunction with Arizona State University, will develop strategies and measures to address taste and odor problems in the city's water. These measures could include the use of activated carbon at certain water treatment plants, blending different sources of water, and brushing algae from the sides of canals.  Phoenix will also conduct a study to determine whether MTBE and ammonium perchlorate are present in various water sources under different environmental conditions.    

     "We rely heavily on the monitoring and recordkeeping of our nation's water suppliers to assure that all Americans have water safe to drink," said Alexis Strauss, the director of the EPA's Water Division for the Pacific Southwest Region.  "Although this is a complex task, it is vital -- especially for children, the elderly and others with sensitive immune systems."

     In November of 1996, the ADEQ asked the EPA to join the state in an action to bring Phoenix into compliance.  The two agencies issued separate notices of violations that alleged approximately 1,500 missed monitoring events.  The ADEQ, the Arizona Attorney General's Office, and the U.S. Department of Justice worked with the EPA in documenting the violations and negotiating a resolution to the matter.      
 
     Under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, water providers are required to submit regular reports that measure for 90 separate contaminants.  Failure to meet these requirements can result in contaminants and water borne diseases such as cryptosporidium entering a water supply system, going undetected, and endangering public health.