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City of North Las Vegas to pay settlement for alleged clean water violations

City of North Las Vegas to pay settlement for alleged clean water violations
Posted at 7:53 PM, Sep 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-29 22:53:27-04

A settlement has been reached with the city of North Las Vegas on resolving alleged Clean Water Act violations.

The Nevada Attorney General's Office, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection announced the settlement Friday.

North Las Vegas' wastewater treatment plant discharges into the Las Vegas Wash, which flows into Lake Mead. The settlement, formally known as a consent decree, requires the city of North Las Vegas to establish pretreatment requirements for industrial pollutants to better protect downstream waters that flow to Lake Mead.
 
The violations of the city’s wastewater permit were discovered by the EPA and Nevada Division of Environmental Protection during a 2014 inspection. An administrative order was subsequently issued to ensure the North Las Vegas' future compliance. Under the settlement, the city will comply with the requirements in its Clean Water Act permit and the EPA’s general pretreatment regulations.
 
The settlement resolves a Clean Water Act case, which identified deficiencies in the City’s wastewater system that left its treatment plant vulnerable to toxic pollutants from industrial wastewater discharges. Without industrial pretreatment requirements, industrial pollutants can disrupt the function of a treatment plant or pass through it untreated, putting plant workers at risk and harming nearby waterways.
 
Under the proposed settlement, North Las Vegas will develop, fund and implement an industrial pretreatment program. North Las Vegas will also pay a penalty of $192,500 each to the State of Nevada and the federal government.

The consent decree for this settlement was lodged in the federal district court by the U.S. Department of Justice and is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. To view a copy of the consent decree, click here.