EPA cites Albuquerque with Clean Water Act violations

Federal regulators have cited New Mexico's largest city twice this year with violating provisions of the Clean Water Act, and environmentalists are concerned failure to correct the problems could ultimately affect the Rio Grande. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in late October issued an administrative order against Albuquerque for alleged storm water permit violations. The order, which stems from a 2009 audit, accuses the city of failing to implement an effective program for managing the storm water that races down the city's streets and through its drains and arroyos each time it rains or snows. The order also says the city failed to develop goals for assessing the effectiveness of its management practices. City officials disagree with some of the findings. They're preparing a response for the agency. Greg Smith, deputy director of the city's Municipal Development Department, said city officials were surprised by the order given that a similar audit was done in 2007 and the city received a "clean bill of health" at that time. "They found our program was adequate and implemented in accordance with the permit. That's the same program that is being criticized now," he said. In recent years, the EPA has cited four communities in its five-state South-Central region with violating the Clean Water Act's storm water provisions. Among them was Dallas, which was forced to spend more than $3.5 million on fines, the creation of two wetland areas and programs to limit the amount of pollution entering its storm water system. Estimates for bringing Albuquerque into compliance range from $1.9 million to $3 million, according to reviews done by an engineering firm and city employees...more