State fines Asbury Park $35,000 for sewage discharge into ocean Posted by the _Asbury Park Press_ (http://www.app.com/) on 10/23/07 BY _TODD B. BATES_ (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) AND _NANCY SHIELDS_ (mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]) STAFF WRITERS The state has fined Asbury Park $35,000 for discharging partially treated sewage from its sewage treatment plant into the ocean on June 5.
The city estimated that about 250,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater were released after a sewer line collapsed, according to a state Department of Environmental Protection document released today. No staffers were on duty after 5 p.m., plant workers didn't find the problem until about 7 a.m. on June 5 and officials didn't post warning signs on beaches as a precaution until hours later. But the discharge from the 1,700-foot outfall had no effect on beach-water quality, an official has said. "I'm encouraged'' that the DEP is using enforcement to "keep compliance in the forefront,'' said Cynthia A. Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action, a Sandy Hook-based coalition. But treatment plants should be supervised at all times, she said. DEP spokeswoman Darlene Yuhas said "the DEP licenses operators of sewage treatment plants and we issue permits which specify how these facilities must be run. When violations occur, we take action.'' The Asbury Park plant's discharge violated the Water Pollution Control Act, and the unpermitted discharge is considered a "major'' violation, according to the DEP document. The city can request a hearing and city officials said they will use whatever appeal or review process is available to them. "The plant had been inspected just a couple of months prior to the incident,'' said Terence Reidy, city manager. "The brackets gave way, but within a couple of hours, the whole thing was under control.'' Technically, there was an illegal discharge and the city is not arguing that point, Reidy said. "I guess the issue is that you have a city like Asbury Park doing everything in its power to do the right thing and has a staff doing the right thing and you have this fluky break ... and get everything back to normal in 48 hours,'' Reidy said. "My position is simple. We'll take the opportunity to go through the appeal process so we can tell our story. .‚.‚. It's not like we're some outlaw sewer plant.'' Garrett Giberson, city director of public works, said it was the first violation for the city since its sewer plant went on line in July 1988. And when the water was tested after the break, the parameters "were well below the level that would indicate pollution,'' he said. The DEP found no negligence on the city's part, he said. Since the pipe broke, the city spent $50,000 to repair it and also put in a bypass pipe so the plant does not have that problem again. Copyright © 2007 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved. Users of this site agree to the _Terms of Service_ (http://www.app.com/terms/) and _Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights_ (http://www.app.com/privacy/) (Terms updated March 2007) Site design by _Asbury Park Press_ (http://www.app.com/) / _Contact us_ (http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=CONTACTUS) NEWS AND INFORMATION WITH A UNIQUE TWIST The Brown Report on the Electric News weeknights a 7 est._www.electricnews.com_ (http://www.electricnews.com/) KEVIN BROWN ALSO PUBLISHES _www.njeminentdomainabuse.com_ (http://www.njeminentdomainabuse.com/) ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com
