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Homeowners Association Referred to AG
DNR has referred Camden County Homeowners Association to the Missouri Attorney General's Office.
By: on 2010-07-22
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has referred the case against a Camden County homeowners association to the Missouri Attorney General's Office alleging violations of the Missouri Clean Water Law.
The department referred the case against Shamrock Point Homeowners' Association Inc. to the attorney general alleging numerous clean water law violations at its wastewater treatment facility, located off Lake Road 5-48, in Sunrise Beach.
"When businesses violate the law and are unable or unwilling to return to compliance, we will ask the attorney general to pursue legal action to protect both public health and the environment," said Mark N. Templeton, director of the Department of Natural Resources.
The wastewater treatment facility serving the three homes in the Shamrock Point Subdivision consists of an extended aeration unit with seasonal chlorination. Effluent from the wastewater treatment facility discharges to the Lake of the Ozarks.
Department staff inspected the facility in October and again in April, documenting in both inspections the association failed to submit a complete application for a construction permit for installing dechlorination and/or ammonia removal improvements. In accepting its operating permit for the facility, the association had agreed to have such improvements made by May 1, 2009.
Staff also found the facility does not have a proper sampling port or a flow measurement device, and the facility's outfall was not marked. Due to the continuous nature of these violations, the department has referred this matter directly to the Missouri State Attorney General's Office.
Missouri's Clean Water Law exists to protect public health and the environment, and the department is responsible for enforcing the law. The department's enforcement actions help protect public health and the environment by requiring facilities to follow applicable state laws and regulations. The department's main goal in any enforcement action is to work with a facility to achieve compliance with regulatory standards and then ensure it has the tools to remain in compliance. As part of that process, penalties may be accessed to ensure future compliance by removing the economic benefit of continued noncompliance.
The department strives to work with owners and operators to fix problems before an issue is referred. In situations where the responsible party is unwilling or unable to cooperate to bring the facility into compliance and be protective of human health and the environment, the department will refer the case.
For more information, contact the Department's Water Protection Program at 573-751-1300 or call toll-free at 800-361-4827.
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