Document ypEwV2G2VVmzXOy2ne351z6Y2

REGION 6 DALLAS, TX 75270 April 18, 2024 TRANSMITTED VIA E-MAIL Francisco Espinoza Assistant Town Manager Town of Taos 400 Camino de la Placita Taos, New Mexico 87571 fespinoza@taosgov.com RE: Clean Water Act, Section 308 Information Request NPDES Permit No. NM0024066 Dear Mr. Espinoza: Pursuant to Section 308 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. Section 1318 et seq., the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to request information pertinent to carrying out its responsibilities under the CWA. Accordingly, this Information Request is hereby served on the Town of Taos, New Mexico, a "person," as defined in Section 502(5) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1362(5), and 40 C.F.R. 122.2. Compliance with the provisions of this letter is mandatory. Please provide the information requested below and copies of the requested documents within 20 days of receipt of this letter. The response must be signed by a duly authorized official of the Town of Taos. The information will be considered in the evaluation of the extent of your compliance with the federal regulations regarding the Town of Taos National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Failure to respond fully and truthfully to this Information Request, or to adequately justify such failure to respond, will be considered a violation of Section 309 of the CWA, as amended by the Water Quality Act of 1987, which can result in enforcement action by the EPA. Section 309 of the CWA permits the EPA to seek the imposition of civil and criminal penalties for failure to submit information requested under Section 308 of the CWA, including issuance of an Administrative Penalty Order or referral to the United States Department of Justice for judicial action with monetary fines. Please be further advised that providing false, misleading, or fraudulent statements or representations, may subject you to criminal penalties under Section 309 of the CWA. This Information Request is not subject to the approval requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, of 1980, as amended, 44 U.S.C. Section 3501, et. seq., as described in 5 CFR Part 1320.3(c). -2- On January 19, 2024, the Town of Taos failed to produce and provide the EPA inspector with requested information while onsite conducting an inspection of its wastewater treatment system. On January 23, 2024, a follow-up email from the inspector included a request of the same information be submitted not later than January 30, 2024. As of April 2, 2024, the inspector has yet to receive the requested information. You are hereby requested to provide the following information: 1. A copy of the Sanitary Sewer Overflow {SSO) protocol and Standard Operating Procedures {SOPs) for clean-up and reporting, including clarification of how often it is updated, 2. A copy of all SSO events and associated work orders from January 1, 2022, through current date, 3. A detailed description of the town's Asset Management Program/Plan, 4. A copy of the Fats, Oils, and Grease {FOG) ordinance and policy, 5. Copies of applicable service agreements with respect to satellite communities or other entities contributing to the wastewater treatment plant, 6. A copy of the septage ordinance and policy, 7. Identification of each lift station and wet well, including locations for each, and 8. A copy of the Capacity, Management, Operations, and Maintenance {CMOM) plan. If the town does not have a CMOM plan, provide a detailed description of how the town maintains the sanitary sewer collection system. At this time, the EPA is requesting the information be submitted electronically. Please email your response to matthews.rachel@epa.gov. If you are unable to submit the information electronically, please mail it to the following address with an email regarding such delivery: Ms. Rachel Matthews Water Enforcement Branch {ECDWM) U. S. EPA Region 6 1201 Elm Street, Suite 500 Dallas, TX 75270-2102 If you need additional time to respond to this request, or if you have any questions relating to this Information Request, please contact Ms. Rachel Matthews at 214-665-8589. Sincerely, Digitally signed by Cheryl T. Seager Date: 2024.04.18 13:23:19 -05'00' Cheryl T. Seager, Director Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division e.c. Ms. Shelly Lemon NMED Water Bureau Chief shelly.lemon@env.nm.gov Ms. Susan LucasKamat NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau susan.lucaskamat@env.nm.gov