CEDAR CITY -- City officials are trying to settle 10 alleged sewage disposal violations that carry a maximum $129,000 state fine.
"Many of the violations were for the same thing," Cedar City Manager Joe Melling said, leaving "maybe three to five real violations" that could warrant a fine of less than $10,000.Most of the violations cited by the state Department of Environmental Quality concerned the city's building and use without a permit of a winter storage pad for sewage sludge.
The city also was cited for accidentally spraying treated effluent onto city-owned land adjacent to the plant.
Fred Pehrson, assistant director of the state Division of Water Quality, said the violations were documented in 1998 during routine inspections. The violations, he said, posed no environmental or human health risk.
Cited Jan. 4, Cedar City officials had kept the violations under wraps while trying to negotiate a settlement that must be reviewed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. A final resolution of the case is six to nine months away.
Melling said some violations were a result of misunderstandings about state regulations.