Darlene Mann, owner of Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park, has been issued another state reprimand for not meeting deadlines to fix the park’s leaking sewage pit.

In a “compliance advisory” issued May 27 and made public last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment said Mann failed to perform several key actions to clean up the pit that is leaching feces and other septic material into Lightner Creek, a tributary of the Animas River.

According to the state, Mann has not submitted an engineering evaluation, which would layout a plan and time schedule for a remediation project, nor has she submitted proof she has hired an engineer – measures that were due months ago.

As a result, Mandy Mercer, clean water enforcement specialist with the state, said Mann is likely to miss further deadlines, such as applying for a site approval for the park west of Durango, as well as a preliminary effluence limit.

Mann, who splits her time between Colorado and Utah, did not respond to requests for comment.

Her attorney, Durango lawyer John Seibert, wrote in an email the advisory “came as a surprise because Ms. Mann’s engineer had submitted documents intended to meet CDPHE’s initial deadlines.”

According to Mercer, Mann’s engineer, Dolores-based resident Cap Allen, left the project. Mercer said she has heard Mann acquired a new engineer, but the department has received no proof of a contract.

Allen did not say why he quit.

“Well that’s up to me, I think,” he said tersely. “I’m out of that situation now.”

The situation is a chronicle of Mann not properly maintaining her mobile park and the sewage of its 40 homes.

Mann was first cited in 2005 when the state found the unlined, open sewage pit, less than 100 feet from Lightner Creek, leaching iron and coliform into the waterway. She has been in violation of the Clean Water Act for more than a decade.

While state officials attempted to get Mann to fix the pond during that time, the health department pointed to lack of staff and resources as to why concerted enforcement actions hadn’t happened until this year.

In February, the state issued Mann a “Cease and Desist” order, which formally put her under enforcement and subject to fines of $10,000 a day.

Mann has denied having received orders and claimed remediation efforts are in the works. However, she has missed a slew of state deadlines.

“They have been a longtime problem for the division,” Mike Harris, a manager for the state’s clean water enforcement unit, said in March. “And it’s just gone on too long.”

Mercer said the most recent advisory is a message to Mann: Finish the past-due actions as soon as possible to get on track.

“Whether it gets escalated beyond where it is right now is up to them,” she said.

This new state advisory gave Mann another 30 days to complete the engineering evaluation, but Mercer said she expects Mann will ask for an extension, and that the project is likely “months or even years away from completion.” She added the state uses discretion on enforcement.

“We don’t generally move to the penalty phase until after the violator moves forward through corrective actions,” Mercer said. “We’d rather not set her up for failure. We need to make sure the deadlines are realistic, but also aggressive.”

Harris said if Mann ultimately does not comply with the “Cease and Desist” order, the state would file a petition against the mobile home owner in La Plata County District Court.

jromeo@durangoherald.com