IAW Receives Notice of Violation, Starts Lagoon Replacement Project

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) recently issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to Indiana American Water Co. (IAW) for unlawful discharges into Long Lake through the backwash retention pond that sits behind its water filtration plant on Diana Rd. in Ogden Dunes.

More than 82 acres, Long Lake is a state and federally listed wetland of which less than 10 acres are situated in Ogden Dunes. The remaining wetland belongs to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. The water in the retention pond (which can be viewed in the photo below) results from IAW backflushing its filters every 24-48 hours, which allegedly releases upwards to 130,000 gallons of water into the enclosure.

According to the NOV: “On April 4, 2007, representatives of IDEM conducted an investigation of a release of an unknown amount of backwash water from the retention pond into Long Lake.” Furthermore, the NOV states that “IDEM’s investigation has also revealed the potential for continuing subsurface discharges from the backwash retention pond to Long Lake due to the fact that the retention pond is uncovered and unlined.”

The ODEAB alleges that subsurface discharges cited in the NOV may be an important contributing factor to the high ground water and surface water levels being experienced on Diana Ct., Diana Rd. and Indian Camp Trail this past three years. Other major contributing factors may include:

• Higher than normal precipitation (more than 250 percent of normal in recent months) this past three years.
• Due to its nature as a swale wetland, there are no surface streams that quickly take the water out of the lake.
• Water seeps slowly underground from the wetland into the aquifer below and possibly into drainage ditches on U.S. 12 and County Line Rd. that have not been maintained in many years. (It should be noted, however, that underground seepage rates and patterns are very difficult to study; and connections to any drainage ditches have not been proven.)
• Some homes in the vicinity of Long Lake and Indian Camp Trail were built on fill that was used to create the subdivision where the Water Filtration Plant is located, known as the 5th Subdivision of Ogden Dunes. Without the fill, those homes would have been in or on the edge of Long Lake.

The cited discharge is unlawful because IAW does not have a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit from IDEM for discharging into Long Lake. A copy of the NOV may be found at (http://www.state.in.us/idem/oe/cause/NOV/18172-W.htm). Unfortunately, however, as provided by Indiana law, an alleged violator may enter into an Agreed Order to resolve the NOV without admitting that the violations occurred. In other words, IAW does not have to admit any fault for the flooding issue.

IAW officials are meeting with IDEM officials on January 27 to discuss the terms of the Agreed Order. The ODEAB has encouraged IDEM to have the Agreed Order include a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) that could potentially fund on-the-ground work to help understand, monitor and alleviate the high ground water problems. There is no guarantee that this will happen; however SEPs can be attractive in that they lower fines paid to IDEM and can result in more benefits to those impacted by the discharge.

The Agreed Order is also an important critical step in making sure that a replacement schedule for the retention pond will be adhered to by IAW, which has been working on engineering and construction plans for replacing the backwash retention pond for more than a year. The facilities are planned to be constructed west of the air monitoring station and electrical substation in the southeast corner of the existing backwash impoundment.

(Click on the photo to enlarge it.)

According to Ken Buczek, PE, Director, Production – IN and MI, IAW, site preparation work for replacing the backwash retention pond with two holding basins has already begun. Residents have reported seeing dump trucks of stone being hauled into the plant and that an excavator appears to be sitting on the south dike.

The stone is being used to construct a road to the job site; and sheet piling will be driven into the ground to prepare the area to be filled. The filled area will hold the backwash holding basins as well as future sludge thickening and dewatering facilities that will be constructed later.

Once the sheet piling is in place, unsuitable soils will be excavated from the area, and a foundation appropriate to the soils will be installed to support the new structures.

Any further construction of the facility must await an approved construction permit to be issued by IDEM. The permit application includes design drawings and specifications, and should be approved within 30 days of submission. IAW’s goal is to complete the new holding basins and have them operating by June 2009.

The ODEAB has asked IDEM to have IAW document what will happen to the old retention pond once it is no longer being used.