Rutland Herald
By Patrick McArdle
Staff Writer | August 30,2016
Staff Writer | August 30,2016
KILLINGTON — The administrators of a local public water system that supplies drinking water to about 90 people have agreed to pay a $37,000 fine, the second time in seven years the company has faced a five-figure penalty.
On Monday, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell’s office said the Pico Village Water Corp., which operates in Killington, had agreed to the penalty to resolve claims that the corporation had violated management and operational requirements.
In a statement, Sorrell called the case a “strong example of the importance of the reporting and monitoring requirements contained in environmental permits.”
“Vermont has a robust regulatory program to protect our public drinking water supplies, and we will hold water supply operators accountable to the highest levels of compliance,” Sorrell said.
The fine is much lower than it could have been. Under state law, Pico Village could have been fined up to $85,000 for each of the violations and up to $42,500 for each day until the violation was addressed.
As part of a consent order, Pico Village admitted to nine violations of its public water supply permit including a failure to contract with a certified water system operator and a failure to submit other documentation and reports, including a plan to sample for lead and copper.
The Vermont attorney general’s office said all the compliance issues have been resolved except the submission of the plan to test for lead and copper. Pico Village has 30 days to submit the plan.
The fine announced Monday follows a $12,000 fine levied by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in September 2009.
Assistant Vermont Attorney General Justin E. Kolber said the action that resulted in the $37,000 fine was the first time his office had taken action against a public water system.
However, he said they were asked to take action because Pico Village was not in compliance with the agreement reached with ANR in 2009.
Kolber said the $12,000 fine had been paid but other conditions had not been met. For instance, Pico Village had been ordered to identify needed system upgrades and improvements and submit a plan to address those needs by March 2014. The water company had also failed to submit monthly operating reports between February 2013 and June 2015.
The fine also resolves the state’s claim that Pico Village violated Vermont rules for water supplies by not filing documentation quickly that showed action had been taken to address an elevated E. coli level in 2012 and a chlorine leak in 2013.
Kolber said the state found no evidence that those incidents had actually resulted in unsafe water being used by the system’s customers but that the company had failed to provide the proper documentation showing its response.
According to Kolber, there is no indication that there are any health hazards present in the Pico Village system.
Kolber said the investigation which ended with the fine began in the summer of 2015.
The 2009 complaint by ANR found 16 violations including connecting to a private unregulated water well and failure to properly disinfect the water.
Pico Village operates the Upper Well and Schuyler Well on Alpine Drive along west Pico Peak. It is not affiliated with the Pico Ski Area or Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners.
Attorney David Carpenter, of the Rutland law firm Facey Goss and McPhee, P.C., who represented the water company, declined to comment on Monday. Officials from the water company could not be reached Monday.
patrick.mcardle @rutlandherald.com
On Monday, Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell’s office said the Pico Village Water Corp., which operates in Killington, had agreed to the penalty to resolve claims that the corporation had violated management and operational requirements.
In a statement, Sorrell called the case a “strong example of the importance of the reporting and monitoring requirements contained in environmental permits.”
“Vermont has a robust regulatory program to protect our public drinking water supplies, and we will hold water supply operators accountable to the highest levels of compliance,” Sorrell said.
The fine is much lower than it could have been. Under state law, Pico Village could have been fined up to $85,000 for each of the violations and up to $42,500 for each day until the violation was addressed.
As part of a consent order, Pico Village admitted to nine violations of its public water supply permit including a failure to contract with a certified water system operator and a failure to submit other documentation and reports, including a plan to sample for lead and copper.
The Vermont attorney general’s office said all the compliance issues have been resolved except the submission of the plan to test for lead and copper. Pico Village has 30 days to submit the plan.
The fine announced Monday follows a $12,000 fine levied by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in September 2009.
Assistant Vermont Attorney General Justin E. Kolber said the action that resulted in the $37,000 fine was the first time his office had taken action against a public water system.
However, he said they were asked to take action because Pico Village was not in compliance with the agreement reached with ANR in 2009.
Kolber said the $12,000 fine had been paid but other conditions had not been met. For instance, Pico Village had been ordered to identify needed system upgrades and improvements and submit a plan to address those needs by March 2014. The water company had also failed to submit monthly operating reports between February 2013 and June 2015.
The fine also resolves the state’s claim that Pico Village violated Vermont rules for water supplies by not filing documentation quickly that showed action had been taken to address an elevated E. coli level in 2012 and a chlorine leak in 2013.
Kolber said the state found no evidence that those incidents had actually resulted in unsafe water being used by the system’s customers but that the company had failed to provide the proper documentation showing its response.
According to Kolber, there is no indication that there are any health hazards present in the Pico Village system.
Kolber said the investigation which ended with the fine began in the summer of 2015.
The 2009 complaint by ANR found 16 violations including connecting to a private unregulated water well and failure to properly disinfect the water.
Pico Village operates the Upper Well and Schuyler Well on Alpine Drive along west Pico Peak. It is not affiliated with the Pico Ski Area or Killington/Pico Ski Resort Partners.
Attorney David Carpenter, of the Rutland law firm Facey Goss and McPhee, P.C., who represented the water company, declined to comment on Monday. Officials from the water company could not be reached Monday.
patrick.mcardle @rutlandherald.com
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