Document GK91Eva5kvk4vy867D4gE4xox

July 10, 2024 TRANSMITTED VIA E-MAIL John Blair, City Manager City of Santa Fe P.O. Box 909 Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909 jwblair@santafenm.gov Re: Administrative Order Docket Number: CWA-06-2024-1765 Santa Fe Wastewater Treatment Facility, NPDES Permit: NM0022292 Dear Mr. Blair: Enclosed is an Administrative Order (AO) issued to the City of Santa Fe for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) (33 U.S.C. 1251-1387). Violations were identified during a review of the permit file and discharge monitoring reports submitted for the Santa Fe Wastewater Treatment Facility. The violations alleged are for failure to meet permit effluent limitations. This AO provides a schedule of the activities proposed by the City to comply with the terms of the permit. The EPA requests that you immediately confirm receipt of this e-mail and the attached AO by providing a response e-mail to tates.mona@epa.gov. This AO does not assess a monetary penalty; however, it does require compliance with applicable federal regulations. The first compliance deadline is within thirty days of the effective date of the AO. The Environmental Protection Agency is committed to ensuring compliance with the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program and my staff will assist you in any way possible. Please reference AO Docket Number CWA-06-2024-1765 and NPDES Permit Number NM0022292 on your response. If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Mona Tates of my staff, at (214) 665-7152 or tates.mona@epa.gov. Sincerely, Digitally signed by CHERYL SEAGER Date: 2024.07.10 09:20:45 -04'00' Cheryl T. Seager, Director Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Enclosure Santa Fe Wastewater Treatment Facility P. 2 CWA-06-2024-1765 ec: Ms. Shelly Lemon, Chief NMED Water Bureau shelly.lemon@env.nm.gov Ms. Susan LucasKamat, Manager NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau susan.lucaskamat@env.nm.gov UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Region FINDINGS OF VIOLATION AND COMPLIANCE ORDER Docket Number: CWA-06-2024-1765; NPDES Permit Number: NM0022292 STATUTORY AUTHORITY The following findings are made, and Order issued under the authority vested in the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by Section 309(a) of the Clean Water Act (Act), 33 U.S.C. 1319(a). The Administrator of EPA delegated the authority to issue this Order to the Regional Administrator of EPA Region 6, who further delegated this authority to the Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division. FINDINGS 1. The City of Santa Fe (Respondent) is a municipality which was incorporated under the laws of the State of New Mexico, and as such, is a "person" as that term is defined at Section 502(5) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1362(5), and 40 C.F.R. 122.2. 2. At all times relevant to this Order (all relevant times), Respondent owned or operated a municipal wastewater treatment facility located at Airport Road, Santa Fe, Santa Fe County, New Mexico, 87504 (facility), and was, therefore, an "owner or operator" within the meaning of 40 C.F.R. 122.2. 3. At all relevant times, the facility was a "point source" of a "discharge" of "pollutants" with its municipal wastewater to the receiving waters of Santa Fe River in Segment No. 20.6.4.113 of the Rio Grande Basin which is a "water of the United States" within the meaning of Section 502 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1362, and 40 C.F.R. 122.2. 4. Because Respondent owned or operated a facility that acted as a point source of discharges of pollutants to waters of the United States, Respondent and the facility were subject to the Act and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. 5. Under Section 301 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311, it is unlawful for any person to discharge any pollutant from a point source to waters of the United States, except with the authorization of, and in compliance with, an NPDES permit issued pursuant to Section 402 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342. 6. Section 402(a) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342(a), provides that the Administrator of EPA may issue permits under the NPDES program for the discharge of pollutants from point sources to waters of the United States. Any such discharge is subject to the specific terms and conditions prescribed in the applicable permit. 7. Respondent applied for and was issued NPDES Permit No. NM0022292 (herein the permit) under Section 402 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342, which became effective on September 1, 2021, and expires on August 31, 2026. At all relevant times, Respondent was authorized to discharge pollutants from the facility to waters of the United States only in compliance with the specific terms and conditions of the permit. 8. Part I.A of the permit places certain limitations on the quality and quantity of effluent discharged by Respondent. The relevant discharge limitations are indicated in the attached Table A. 9. Part I.C. of the permit requires the Respondent to sample and test its effluent and monitor its compliance with permit conditions according to specific procedures, in order to determine the facility's compliance or noncompliance with the permit and applicable regulations. It also requires the Respondent to file with EPA certified Discharge Monitoring Reports (DMRs) of the results of monitoring, and Noncompliance Reports when appropriate. 10. Certified DMRs filed by the Respondent with EPA in compliance with the permit show discharges of pollutants from the facility that exceed the permitted effluent limitations established in Part I.A of the permit, as specified in the attached Table B. 11. Each instance in which Respondent discharged pollutants to waters of the United States in amounts exceeding the effluent limitations contained in the permit is a violation of the permit and Section 301 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311. Each violation of the conditions of the permit or regulations described above is a violation of Section 301 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311. 12. On March 4, 2024, EPA issued Administrative Order Docket Number CWA-06-2024-1745 (Preceding AO) to the Respondent, which cited permit effluent limits violations. The Preceding AO required the correction of the cited violations within thirty (30) days of the issuance. In the event that the required correction was not possible, the Respondent was required to submit a comprehensive plan to eliminate the cited violations within the shortest time possible. 13. On April 4, 2024, the Respondent submitted a written response to the Preceding AO. In the response, the Respondent proposed a comprehensive plan consisting of immediate, nearterm, and long-term actions to address the violations and to implement measures to prevent them from reoccurring. Immediate actions were scheduled to have occurred within Docket No. CWA-06-2024-1765 Page 2 thirty (30) days of the April 4, 2024, response letter. Near-term actions were scheduled to be accomplished within six (6) months, and long-term actions within eighteen (18) months. 14. A schedule for compliance to eliminate the cited violations is hereby incorporated, by reference, into this Order. SECTION 309 (a)(3) COMPLIANCE ORDER 15. Based on the foregoing Findings and pursuant to the authority of Section 309 of the Act, EPA hereby orders Respondent to take the following actions: A. The Respondent shall accomplish the following tasks and comply with the following schedule of activities: ACTIVITY 1. Submit a certified statement of the status of the Immediate Actions proposed for completion within thirty (30) days of the April 4, 2024, response letter. Near-term Actions 2. Conduct Onsite Sampling, assess efficacy of the secondary treatment process and recommend process changes to improve treatment efficacy. 3. Collect influent and effluent samples for analysis, to be conducted by an outside laboratory, to determine if the cyanide exceedances are real or an artifact of false positives. 4. Have consultant audit the Respondent's laboratory procedures for cyanide analysis. Submit a certified report of the audit to this office. If the audit effort confirms that the cyanide exceedances are real, then also submit a proposed written action plan to address cyanide exceedances. 5. Repair failed process air piping and diffuser grids to increase the secondary treatment aerobic volume. 6. Install a temporary chemical closing system to improve sludge settling in the secondary clarifiers. Conduct jar testing to determine which specific chemical will be used. 7. Rehabilitate the two (2) existing travelling bridge sand filters so this infrastructure can return to service. DUE DATE July 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 8. Build a comprehensive base of knowledge management tools and decision trees to guide plant staff with use of the developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). 9. Train laboratory staff to improve laboratory sampling and handling practices, data management, workflow, and develop communications protocol for all testing performed to support treatment operations and regulatory compliance. Long-term Actions 10. Develop an inventory of all instrumentation, calibration practices, and data management for process control. Conduct a gap analysis to identify corrective actions for process control instrumentation. 11. Develop a steady-state biological process model of the Water Reclamation Facility to stimulate current treatment performance and evaluate alternatives to improve performance. 12. Attain compliance with all terms of this schedule. September 30, 2024 September 30, 2024 October 31, 2025 October 31, 2025 November 30, 2025 B. Until compliance is achieved under this Order, Respondent shall submit a Quarterly Report indicating progress of the actions listed in this compliance schedule. The quarters will end in the months of March, June, September, and December and the Quarterly Reports are due by the 15th of the following month. C. If Respondent would like to arrange a meeting with EPA to discuss the allegations in this Order, it should contact EPA within forty-five (45) days of the effective date of this Order. The meeting will be held at the Region 6 offices, 1201 Elm Street, Dallas, Texas, or through a virtual platform, as appropriate, and Respondent can provide any information it believes is relevant to this Order. Respondent shall submit to EPA all information or materials it considers relevant to EPA at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting. D. To arrange a meeting, or to ask questions or comment on this matter, please contact Ms. Mona Tates, of my staff, at (214) 665-7152 or tates.mona@epa.gov. E. Any information or correspondence submitted by Respondent to EPA under this Order shall be addressed to the following: Docket No. CWA-06-2024-1765 Page 3 Ms. Mona Tates tates.mona@epa.gov and Ms. Nancy Williams williams.nancy@epa.gov GENERAL PROVISIONS This Order does not constitute a waiver or modification of the terms or conditions of Respondent's NPDES permit, which remains in full force and effect. Compliance with the terms and conditions of this Order does not relieve Respondent of its obligation to comply with any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation. The effective date of this Order is the date it is received by the Respondent. Issuance of this Section 309(a)(3) Compliance Order shall not be deemed an election by EPA to forego any administrative, judicial, civil or criminal action to seek penalties, fines, or any other relief appropriate under the Act for the violations cited herein, or other violations that become known to EPA. EPA reserves the right to seek any remedy available under the law that it deems appropriate. Respondent may seek federal judicial review of the Order pursuant to Chapter 7 of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. 701-706. : Date Digitally signed by CHERYL SEAGER Date: 2024.07.10 09:22:36 -04'00' Cheryl T. Seager, Director Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division Failure to comply with this Section 309(a)(3) Compliance Order or the Act may result in further administrative action, or a civil judicial action initiated by the United States Department of Justice.