EAST ST. LOUIS - Water regulators propose a tiny $30,000 penalty for years of sewage violations in Cahokia Heights out of sympathy for the city’s poverty in a consent decree that depends on the city to pay for improvements.
State and federal lawyers posted the decree at U.S. district court on Dec. 10.
“It is the city’s responsibility to determine how best to fund the work," they wrote.
They set deadlines through 2036 and laid out a process to stretch the schedule to 2041 if finances require it.
The clerk assigned District Judge David Dugan, who stayed two citizen suits so the city could negotiate with regulators.
Nicole Nelson of Belleville, counsel for residents who sued the city, issued a statement that her clients were disheartened.
"While this decree may offer some surface level improvements, it does not provide the immediate robust relief that this community needs and deserves," she wrote.
“This community deserves much more than promises of future repairs.”
“They deserve immediate intervention, comprehensive support and a commitment to a future free from the daily threat of flooding and sewage.”
Cahokia Heights Mayor Curtis McCall signed the decree on Nov. 13.
U.S. Attorney Rachelle Crowe, counsel from Washington, and state Attorney General Kwame Raoul signed it.
They requested an injunction against violations of national clean water law and an order to achieve proper system operation and maintenance.
They requested civil penalties up to $66,712 per day for each violation under federal law and up to $50,000 under state regulations.
“The parties recognize that defendant has limited financial resources and have taken that and the potential burden on the community into consideration in reaching agreement on this consent decree," they wrote.
“Within 30 days after the effective date, defendant shall pay the sum of $30,000 as a civil penalty to the United States.”
Under the proposal:
Upon the effective date the city shall employ two persons with collection system operator certification.
The City shall employ three operators within a year and four within two years.
Four months after the effective date the city shall submit a plan to involve the public in addressing sewer improvements.
The city shall conduct at least two public meetings per year.
The city shall provide notices regarding emergencies, repairs and infrastructure improvements by email where available and by phone, flyers, and signage.
Notices shall be at least seven days in advance and shall include location, beginning and ending dates, and any road closures.
The city would remove debris from a majority of the sanitary sewer system.
Pipe and manhole inspections shall be performed by certified persons.
In nine months the city shall submit a plan to update its system maps.
The city has five years to implement the plan.
By Dec. 31, 2029, the city shall submit an assessment report and base a rehabilitation plan on it.
By Dec. 31, 2035, the city shall submit a second phase assessment report and base a rehabilitation plan on it.
Three years after completion of a monitoring plan the city shall submit a plan to reduce and eliminate infiltration from private laterals and improper connections.
The plan might encourage property owners to inspect and repair laterals and remove improper connections. It might also include incentives to install backflow preventers on private laterals.
The plan shall take into consideration laterals on abandoned properties.
For certain properties in the former city of Centreville a tax increment financing will provide at least $350,000 to repair private laterals.
According to the decree the city estimated the average cost at $3,500.
The decree states, “If the city believes financial capability considerations would impact its ability to meet a schedule for specific work under this decree, the city may submit a request to modify that schedule.”
The city may provide information, “to demonstrate the impact of the current schedule on the community and the need for alternative funding.”
The city may use other information documenting its efforts to obtain necessary funding and its inability to fund the work, “whether by raising sewer rates or other means.”
The city shall specify deadlines it can’t comply with and propose a schedule as expeditious as feasible and, “in no event longer than an additional five years.”
The decree shall be lodged with the court not less than 60 days for public comment.
The U.S. and the state reserved a right to withdraw the decree if comments disclose facts or considerations indicating it is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate.