Plant cited for violations
GWTP gets ‘unsatisfactory’ compliance
rating from state

Water pours out of the Gallup wastewater plant outlet and flows down stream into the Rio Puerco of the West on July 9.[photo by Jeff Jones / Independent]

By Kathy Helms
Diné Bureau

GALLUP — The Gallup Wastewater Treatment Plant has received an “unsatisfactory” rating from the state in six of seven categories pertaining to its federal discharge permit, according to a July 15 compliance inspection report.

The utility received a “marginal” rating in the seventh category and additionally was issued a notice of violation for not having two certified Level 4 wastewater operators on staff.

The notice was sent Aug. 1 to Gallup Mayor Harry Mendoza by the New Mexico Environment Department’s Surface Water Quality Bureau. A separate report of findings from the state’s July 15 inspection was sent July 29 to Lance

Allgood, executive director of Gallup Joint Utilities.
In the letter to Mendoza, Glen Saums said the city violated state code by operating a public wastewater facility without supervision of a New Mexico certified operator. The sole Level 4 operator left city employment April 18 and the city did not notify the bureau in a timely manner.

After analysis of the population served and the type of wastewater processes used at the Gallup plant, it was determined the city needs two Level 4 operators to properly operate the facility. The second operator is necessary to provide services in the absence of the lead operator. The city has until Aug. 20 to submit a proposed schedule of compliance.

City Manager Gerald Hererra said the city already has hired a Level 4 operator, Robert Sikeya, who started July 28, and is advertising for another.

“The job opening is out there, or we may be in the process of readvertising,” Hererra said.

Mendoza said the city has not been able to attract qualified operators because of low pay.
“We’re doing the very best that we can. The fact is that we can’t hire qualified operators because of the wage problem. We cannot increase the wages, and that’s because of the union. If we raise the wages for them (operators), then we have to raise the wages for everybody else, and we’re not financially able to do that,” Mendoza said.

Allgood was asked to submit a written report to NMED and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by Sept. 1 documenting what actions the utility has taken or will take to correct problems identified in the July 15 inspection report.

NMED performed the inspection to provide EPA with information to evaluate the permittee’s compliance with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES permit. The plant is a major discharger under the federal

Clean Water Act.
Gallup Wastewater Treatment Plant received unsatisfactory ratings in record keeping and reporting, operation and maintenance, self-monitoring, flow measurement, and effluent/receiving waters observations. It was rated marginal in the laboratory category.

The Independent attempted to contact Allgood around 4 p.m. Monday and again around 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Allgood was in a meeting Monday, had someone in his office both times Tuesday, and did not return phone calls.

In reviewing GWTP’s files, the state noted that the utility only reports gross effluent values for salinity discharged to the Colorado River, therefore, it is difficult to determine whether it is exceeding the established standard. EPA has been notified of the discrepancy and will determine if a permit modification is needed.

Incidents reported to the state include a July 2 letter from Michael DeClercq, acting assistant wastewater superintendent, which said GWTP exceeded its permit limit for biochemical oxygen demand, or BOD, on June 19 and 21 because of a die-off of microorganisms in the plant.

BOD is a chemical procedure for determining how fast biological organisms use up oxygen in a body of water. It can be used as a gauge of the effectiveness of wastewater treatment plants.

DeClercq said the kill-off was the result “of something that came into the plant June 15 or 16th,” coupled with the breakage of two oxidation ditch aeration brushes.

At 6 a.m. June 24, GWTP’s lab technician noticed power out to parts of the plant and sewage backing up out of the headworks. About 1,800 gallons of raw sewage went into the Rio Puerco and 1,200 gallons of treated sewage stayed within the facility. There was no loss-of-power alarm sent to the operator.

DeClercq notified the state June 26 and reported that the incident was under investigation. The overflow was reported to EPA and NMED, however, the Navajo Nation was not notified, as required by the NPDES permit.

Regarding the compliance report, Hererra said, “We’re going to go through line-by-line and take corrective action. Some of it has already taken place at the time between the inspection and the letter.” He said Level 4 operator Sikeya will delve into each one of the items and start corrective action.

Some Gallup residents have complained of strong odors coming from the plant. Dave Bary of U.S. EPA Region 6 in Dallas said the agency does not regulate odor through an NPDES permit.

“However, it’s understood that if there are odor problems associated with a sewer-treatment plant, the cause is probably associated with improper operation or maintenance. If a plant is working and operated correctly within the parameters of its permit, then odor is typically not a problem,” he said.

NMED’s Marissa Stone said odors usually fall under local jurisdiction, “but a lot of times the counties don’t have regulations on that, so residents might need to push their local lawmakers to pass ordinances.”

The city is in the process of renewing several groundwater discharge permits, Stone said.

“The Environment Department will closely address concerns with those permits and fine tune them to address deficiencies. The city is also in the process of building up its operations staff for the wastewater treatment plant. We will pay close attention to that,” she said.

Mendoza expressed hope Tuesday that the city soon will be able to come up with much-needed additional revenue for the wastewater treatment plant, possibly through an increase in gross receipts tax.

“We hired a new Convention and Visitor Bureau person, and Sunday liquor sales is on the ballot today ... Hopefully that’s going to promote some additional tourism and maybe some conventions. That’s the only way we’re going to have any additional revenue, because there’s no way we can raise property taxes.

“We could do it, but we’re not going to do it. People are strapped already. Economic development is about the only other way,” he said, but even that is hampered by the city’s lack of water.

“We don’t have the water that we need. If you have some commercial businesses that come in that require water, we can’t do it. But, we’ll get there,” he said optimistically.