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Clean Up Plan For Ruidoso Waste Water Treatment Plant Will Restore River Health

Date
March 25, 2008
Contact
WildEarth Guardians
In This Release
Rivers  
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Clean Up Plan For Ruidoso Waste Water Treatment Plant Will Restore River Health

New Plant, Restoration Funding Will Protect and Restore Rio Ruidoso
Contact: WildEarth Guardians

Santa Fe, NM-An environmental group and two southern New Mexico municipalities announcedan agreement that will require the two municipalities to build a new wastewater treatment facilityand dedicate $1 million towards restoration of the Rio Ruidoso and its watershed.

The agreement is an outgrowth of a lawsuit that WildEarth Guardians and two Lincoln Countyresidents filed on February 11, 2005 alleging that the Village of Ruidoso and the City of RuidosoDowns violated the Clean Water Act in connection with the operation of their jointly controlledwaste water treatment plant, which had been discharging effluent containing phosphorus to the RioRuidoso in excess of the amount allowed by the plant’s Environmental Protection Agency permit.

“This is long overdue, but I’m thankful that we finally have a plan in place to ensure that thewaters of the Rio Ruidoso will be cleaned up,” said John Horning, Executive Director ofWildEarth Guardians, which was formerly WildEarth Guardians. “We’re especially excited that wewere able to work collaboratively with community representatives to find a longterm solution andto secure $1 million in funding for restoration projects,” Horning added.

The recent settlement agreement requires the two municipalities to build and begin to operate anew wastewater treatment plant by December 2010. The new plant is expected to cost $41 million.

In addition to building a new facility the communities have already enacted ordinances to limit thesale, distribution and use of materials containing phosphates. The municipalities are also workingto address inflow and infiltration problems which are believed to have overloaded the existingplants’ treatment capacity.

“The river is the lifeblood of our community,” said Lonnie R. Nunley, Mayor of the Village ofRuidoso and Chairman of the Joint Use Board. The Board owns and operates the treatment plantfor both municipalities. “We are pleased to have worked cooperatively with the plaintiffs in thelawsuit to build upon past community efforts and agree on a path forward,” Nunley added.

Nunley emphasized that the municipalities’ concern for the river began long before the lawsuit wasfiled. He said, “prior efforts included work with engineers on improved plant design and workwith stakeholders on a watershed approach to improved water quality.”

One of the agreement’s creative elements calls for the creation of a panel of city, state, local andenvironmental representatives to allocate $1 million that the municipalities have pledged forrestoration projects in the Rio Ruidoso.

“It is gratifying to finalize this settlement agreement at long last,” said Steven Sugarman, anattorney who represented WildEarth Guardians and the two residents who filed the lawsuit.

“Many complicated issues arose during our negotiations in this case, but with good faith effortsbeing made by all the parties to this case and with the help and assistance of the New MexicoEnvironment Department, we were able to agree on a long-term solution for protecting the uniquevalues of the Rio Ruidoso as well as an innovation partnership for tackling some of the problemsassociated with past discharges from the existing plant.”

According to state and municipality records, the wastewater treatment plant had violated thelimitations for the discharge of phosphorus set forth in the towns’ National Pollution DischargeElimination System Permit in a continuous and ongoing basis ever since 2004. In part as a result ofthese violations the Rio Ruidoso is currently on New Mexico’s list of polluted waters-the 303dlist-because of temperature, turbidity, and high nutrient levels.

Read the Ruidoso Consent Judgement (PDF) (opens in new window)

As of January 28, 2008 Forest Guardians, Sinapu, and the Sagebrush Sea Campaign have joined forces to become WildEarth Guardians. With offices in Boulder, Denver, Phoenix, and Santa Fe, WildEarth Guardians protects and restores wildlife, wild places, and wild rivers in the American West.

 

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The agreement is an outgrowth of a lawsuit that WildEarth Guardians and two Lincoln Countyresidents filed on February 11, 2005 alleging that the Village of Ruidoso and the City of RuidosoDowns violated the Clean Water Act in connection with the operation of their jointly controlledwaste water treatment plant, which had been discharging effluent containing phosphorus to the RioRuidoso in excess of the amount allowed by the plant’s Environmental Protection Agency permit.