In response to a lawsuit filed in August by Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, defendant Washington County Property Owners Improvement District No. 5 denies all allegations that it violated state laws and regulations relating to its waste disposal facility in Valley View subdivision.
Audra Bailey, an attorney in Farmington, filed the answer Sept. 28 on behalf of the property owners improvement district.
ADEQ filed a 16-page complaint Aug. 14 in Washington County Circuit Court. The lawsuit seeks $420,000 in civil penalties.
Specifically, ADEQ asks the court to require the improvement district meet the terms of an emergency order issued in April, to enforce state laws and regulations violated by the defendant, to seek an order requiring remedial measures for wastewater overflows, to assess civil penalties and to seek enforcement of a Consent Administrative Order signed in January.
The complaint states that the improvement district has yet to comply with the terms of a consent administrative order agreed upon by both the improvement district and ADEQ in January. The order was to remedy problems found during inspections in July and August 2012, according to the lawsuit.
The district, according to ADEQ, also has not complied with the terms of an emergency order issued in April because of wastewater overflows observed during inspections at the facility's holding pond on Giles Road.
The complaint requests the court compel the defendant to submit a certified evaluation of the system by a professional engineer, to submit a sampling and analysis plan by a professional geologist to determine the extent of untreated wastewater being discharged in violation of the district's permit and to submit a remediation plan to control and remediate if contamination has occurred.
ADEQ also is requesting the court to order the improvement district to demonstrate that it has the financial ability to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the facility for a minimum of five years.
The defendant's answer denies allegations that it has not complied with the terms of the consent administrative order and emergency order. It also denies allegations of wastewater overflows and problems with the operation of its system.
The answer denies allegations of any ongoing violations of environmental laws and regulations at the facility and denies allegations that it has violated conditions of its permit to operate a wastewater disposal facility.
The response asks the court to dismiss the plaintiff's complaint and grant an award to the improvement district for attorney's fees and costs.
Kelly Robinson with ADEQ in Little Rock on Thursday stated by email the agency could not comment on its lawsuit.
"Due to an ongoing pending enforcement action with Washington County Property Owners District No. 5, we will not be able to comment on this matter at this time," Robinson said in an email.
Bailey could not be reached for comment about the improvement district's answer to the complaint.
General News on 11/18/2015