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City staff report 10-day partial bypass at wastewater plant; MPCA notified
Summary
City staff told the council a partial bypass at the wastewater plant routed disinfected effluent to Jits Creek for about 10 days; staff restored filters and notified the MPCA, and potential enforcement or fines remain unclear.
City staff told the council that the wastewater plant experienced a partial bypass after water could not pass through the sand filter, and that the bypass discharged to Jits Creek for about 10 days.
Dave told the council the plant operators bypassed the sand filter and discharged around the disinfecting stage; Mike, the operator, returned the systems to service the morning of the meeting. Dave said the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has been contacted and that, under the city’s Significant Industrial User (SIU) agreement referenced by staff, the MPCA is responsible for any enforcement.
“MPCA is aware,” Dave said. “We’ve done everything we can and now Mike’s got them back in service. We’ll kind of wait and see.”
Council members asked whether fines are expected; staff said that is unknown and that the city is cooperating with regulators. No enforcement action or fine was announced during the meeting.
The report was presented as an informational update; council did not take formal action at the meeting.
Next steps: staff will continue to coordinate with the MPCA and provide updates if enforcement or remediation steps are required.
