In its letter, DOJ outlined six Safe Drinking Water Act violations by the city, including a failure to adequately staff water plants, failure to implement an alternative water supply plan pursuant to EPA’s previous emergency order, failure to comply with a timeline for general filter rehabilitation, failure to install corrosion control pursuant to the federal lead and copper rule, the exceedance of certain contaminant levels, and exceedance of turbidity levels.
In August, a WLBT investigation revealed that personnel shortages at the city’s two water treatment facilities were so severe that a loss of one employee could have trigged a plant shutdown. Our subsequent review of timesheets submitted to EPA showed water operators that remained on staff logged hundreds of hours of overtime in a matter of weeks to ensure that the plants were staffed at all times with Class A-certified workers, a requirement under state and federal statutes.
As for turbidity, the high levels of turbidity led to a state-imposed boil water notice put in place for all of Jackson’s surface water customers on July 29. Turbidity is the cloudiness of the water. The higher the turbidity, the more likely it contains disease-causing pathogens that were not killed during the treatment process. That notice remained in place until mid-September, after the state had made numerous improvements at the Curtis plant.
Lumumba, who does not support a state or federal takeover of the water system, says he believes Regan understands Jackson’s challenges, and that the EPA, under Regan’s leadership, will work with the best interests of the city in mind.
“I thank him for bringing forward a vision for the EPA that isn’t merely about its regulatory function, which is valued and necessary, but also an understanding of what communities are really facing,” he said. “Based on ongoing conversations, and even our discussion today, I’m happy that we’re moving forward in a collaborative effort, in a collaborative way.”
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