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Nampa Dairy Operator fined nearly $15,000 for storm water violations

Release Date: 08/03/2010
Contact Information: Chris Gebhardt, Compliance & Enforcement (206) 553-0253, [email protected] Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs (206) 553-1203, [email protected]

(Seattle – August 3, 2010) Happy Valley Dairy of Nampa, Idaho reached a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for alleged Clean Water Act violations related to a construction project at the dairy. The violations were found in April 2010 during a joint EPA and Corps of Engineers inspection which resulted from a citizen’s complaint. The company has agreed to come into compliance and pay a penalty of $14,750 for the stormwater violations. An investigation into alleged wetlands violations at the site continues.

Under the Clean Water Act, owners and general contractors at construction sites larger than one acre must apply for coverage under a Construction General Permit (CGP), which limits storm water runoff. The dairy was found to be exposing soils to erosion in an approximately 10-acre area and they were also removing vegetation from the banks of Indian Creek. The CGP’s central requirement is that each operator must design, install and maintain stormwater controls to prevent construction area runoff from polluting nearby streams and lakes. Without these controls, pollutants typically associated with construction sites, such as sediment, oil and grease, and concrete washout can enter nearby waterways.

EPA observed the following violations:

• Failure to obtain coverage under the CGP
• Failure to plan and describe storm water activities in a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan
• Failure to conduct and document results of regular storm water self inspections
• Failure to install and maintain the required erosion and sediment controls