City Electric Inc. and Municipal Light & Power have agreed to pay a $42,300 penalty to settle alleged Clean Water Act violations. The violations occurred at the Eklutna Transmission Line Project construction site, located just north of Anchorage, Alaska, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The alleged violations were discovered during an EPA site inspection in May 2006, and those against City Electronic include: failure to properly select and maintain best management practices to prevent discharge of sediment from the construction site into local water bodies and failure to prepare and implement an adequate storm water pollution prevention plan.
In addition, EPA found that Municipal Light & Power had failed to obtain coverage under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Construction Storm Water General Permit between March 2006 and July 2006. The receiving waters for the storm water discharges from the site are Peters Creek, Parks Creek, Mink Creek, Fire Creek, Eklutna River and Eagle River.
Alaska Operations Office Director for EPA, Marcia Combes, said conducting storm water inspections is an effective way to protect state waters. "Improper management of storm water runoff can have a significant impact on water quality," she said. "Developers and construction companies need to comply with EPA's regulations, or they may face an enforcement action."
Source: U.S. EPA
