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La Crosse board issues notice of violation to City Brewery after daily COD/BOD exceedances; board authorizes fines if recurrences occur
Summary
Utilities staff reported City Brewery exceeded daily COD/BOD limits under a new discharge permit; the board approved a notice of violation, required a written response, and authorized the sewer utility to levy fines up to $1,000 per occurrence (up to twice weekly) if problems recur.
The La Crosse Board of Public Works on Monday issued a notice of violation to City Brewery Company LLC after staff reported multiple exceedances of chemical-oxygen-demand (COD) and biological-oxygen-demand (BOD) limits under a discharge permit issued in October.
Jared (utilities staff) told the board the October permit tightened averaging to a daily average and imposed a stricter daily limit to reduce spikes, because the city must meet a new low-level phosphorus effluent limit of 0.1 milligrams per liter beginning Jan. 1, 2025. Staff said that spikes—so-called slug loads—can upset the plant’s biological process, and that in this instance a caustic pump at City Brewery had not been shut off, which compromised the brewery’s pretreatment reactor and resulted in additional loading to the city plant. Jared said the plant handled the incidents but that they constituted violations and required a written response and corrective actions from the brewery.
Board members asked whether the current violation was related to earlier enforcement in the spring; staff said earlier spring enforcement related to missing reports and other issues (H2S study and reactor cover) and that the current issue was distinct. Staff reported City Brewery accounts for about 17% of front-end BOD loading to the plant and noted the company has previously removed material at the reactor and implemented engineering controls.
The board invited Matthew (Matt) Sweet of City Brewery to respond; Sweet said staff and the company had reviewed the slug-control plan, submitted a written response to the notice of violation, and were finalizing design work to install a reactor cover in 2025. Sweet said the company had taken corrective steps and would continue to work with staff.
Directors discussed enforcement options. Director Gallagher moved to approve the notice of violation and to authorize the sewer utility, subject to conditions, to levy forfeitures (fines) up to $1,000 per occurrence, up to twice weekly, without returning to the board if a similar overage occurs again within an agreed period. Director Train seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
Staff said the expected timeframe for a written response was within one to two weeks and that additional stepped enforcement (including penalties) would follow if exceedances recur. The board’s action establishes the notice and gives the sewer utility delegated authority to implement a penalty schedule tied to occurrences, while staff will continue working with City Brewery on engineering fixes and operational controls.
The board emphasized the importance of the reactor cover and other engineering measures to reduce odors and protect the wastewater treatment process; City Brewery said it expected to install the reactor cover in 2025.
Next steps: City Brewery to provide a written corrective-action plan; utilities staff to monitor compliance and, if further exceedances occur, to apply forfeitures as authorized by the board.
