VIA CERTIFIED MAIL: ____________________

NOTICE OF VIOLATION

To:    Mr. Michael Kamp
    Town Council President
    Town of Santa Claus
    P.O. Box 92
    Santa Claus, Indiana 47579-0092

CAUSE NO. B-2442

    Designated representatives of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) have conducted numerous Compliance Inspections and record reviews for the Town of Santa Claus wastewater treatment plant (hereinafter referred to as the "the WWTP") and waste water collection system (hereinafter referred to as the "the System").

    Based on the above noted inspections and record reviews you were found in violation of your NPDES Permit No. IN 0020605 (the "Permit"), and the following provisions of the Indiana Code (IC) and Indiana Administrative Code (IAC):

    In Part I.A. the Permit (issued March 4, 1989) sets forth the Effluent Limitations the Permittee is required to comply with. Also, the "Attachment A." of said Permit prohibits any bypassing or overflowing at the WWTP or in the System.

    327 IAC 2-1-6(a)(1) states, in substance, that all waters at all times and at all places, including the mixing zone, shall meet the minimum conditions of being free from substances, materials, floating debris, oil or scum attributable to municipal, industrial, agricultural, and other land use practices or other discharges:

    a.    that will settle to form putrescent or otherwise objectionable deposits;

    b.    that are in amounts sufficient to be unsightly or deleterious;

    c.    that produce color, odor or other conditions in such degree as to create a nuisance;

    d.    which are in amounts sufficient to be acutely toxic to, or to otherwise severely injure or kill aquatic life, other animals, plants, or humans; and

    e.    which are in concentrations or combinations that will cause or contribute to the growth of aquatic plants or algae to such degrees as to create a nuisance, be unsightly, or otherwise impair the designated uses.

    327 IAC 5-2-2 states that any discharge of pollutants into the waters of the state as a point source discharge, except for exclusions made in 327 IAC 5-2-4, is prohibited unless in conformity with a valid NPDES permit obtained prior to the discharge.

    327 IAC 5-2-8 The following conditions apply to all NPDES permits and shall be incorporated into the permits either expressly or by reference:

    1.    A permittee shall comply with all terms and conditions of its NPDES permit; any permittee non-compliance constitutes a violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Environmental Management Act (EMA) and is grounds for enforcement action;

    2.    the permittee shall take all reasonable steps to minimize or correct any adverse impact on the environment resulting from noncompliance with the permit;

    3.    the permittee shall at all times maintain in good working order and efficiently operate all facilities and systems (and related appurtenances) for collection and treatment which are necessary for achieving compliance with the terms and conditions of the permit;

    4.    in order to assure compliance with permit terms and conditions, all permittees shall monitor as required in the permit the volume of wastewater flow at monitoring points specified in the permit, including the final effluent flow from each point source;

    5.    all reports required by permits and other information requested by the Commissioner shall be signed by the responsible corporate officer, general partner or proprietor, or duly authorized representative of that person; and

    6.    the permittee shall comply with monitoring, recording, and reporting requirements established in accordance with 327 IAC 5-2-13, 327 IAC 5-2-14, and 327 IAC 5- 2-15.

    IC 13-18-4-5 states, in part, that it is unlawful for any person to throw, run, drain, or otherwise dispose into any of the streams or waters of this state, or to cause, permit, or suffer to be thrown, run, drained, allowed to seep, or otherwise disposed into any waters, any organic or inorganic matter that shall cause or contribute to a polluted condition of any waters, according to any rule of the board under section 7 of this chapter.

    IC 13-30-2-1 requires, in substance, that no person may discharge, emit, cause, allow, or threaten to discharge, emit, cause, or allow any contaminant or waste including any noxious odor, either alone or in combination with contaminants form other sources, into the environment or into any publicly owned treatment works in any form which causes or would cause pollution which violates rules, standards, or discharge of emission requirements adopted by the appropriate board pursuant to this article.    

    Since August of 1990 until the present, the Town of Santa Claus has had severe Infiltration and Inflow (I/I) problems which have caused numerous overflows from several manholes in the System and the WWTP has had numerous NPDES permit effluent limitation exceedances during this period, in violation of 327 IAC 5-2-2, 327 IAC 2-1-6(a)(1), 327 IAC 5- 2-8, IC 13-18-4-5, IC 13-30-2-1, and the Permit.

    In accordance with IC 13-30-3-3, the Commissioner is required to notify you in writing that the Commissioner believes a violation exists and offer you an opportunity to enter into an Agreed Order providing for the actions required to correct the violations and for the payment of a civil penalty. The Commissioner is not required to extend this offer for more than sixty (60) days.

    If settlement is not reached within sixty (60) days of your receipt of this Notice, the Commissioner may issue an Order pursuant to IC 13-30-3-4, containing the actions you must take to achieve compliance, the required time frames, and an appropriate civil penalty. Pursuant to IC 13-30-4-1, the Commissioner may assess penalties of up to $25,000 per day of any violation.

    Entering into an Agreed Order will prevent the issuance of an Order of the Commissioner under IC 13-30-3-4 or the filing of a civil court action under IC 13-14-2-6. IDEM encourages timely settlement by Agreed Order, thereby saving time and resources. Timely settlement by

Agreed Order may result in a reduced civil penalty. Settlement discussions will also give you the opportunity to present any mitigating factors that may be relevant to the violations. In addition, as provided in IC 13-30-3-3, you may enter into an Agreed Order without admitting that the violation occurred.