An engineer hired by the owner of Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park said he will release a study next week on the park’s wastewater lagoon, which has leached untreated sewage into its namesake creek for more than a decade.
On Feb. 22, Darlene Mann was issued a cease-and-desist order for the open septic pond, which has been in violation of the Clean Water Act for being outdated, operating without a permit and spilling excrement into Lightner Creek.
As part of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s order, Mann was given a 30-day deadline to hire a professional engineer to evaluate the unlined wastewater lagoon and recommend measures to fix the facility.
At the time of The Durango Herald’s March 24 article – a day after the imposed deadline – Mike Harris, a manager for the state’s clean water enforcement unit, said Mann had not communicated that she had hired an engineer, and also had failed to acknowledge that she had received the order.
Mann wrote in a March 24 email to the Herald she had hired an engineer but denied having been issued any order from the state. She declined further comment.
On Friday, Harris said Mann and her representatives have since contacted the department. The state agency determined that although it has reason to believe Mann received the order when it was sent Feb. 22, “the Division conservatively considers March 8, 2016, as the date we can confirm the (owner) received the action.”
“An engineering evaluation is due within 60 days of the (owner’s) receipt of the enforcement action,” Harris wrote in an email. “Therefore, the engineering plan is due by May 7, 2016.”
Mann’s contracted engineer, Cap Allen, said Friday he intends to submit the study next week, which will include “the history of her (Mann’s) efforts” in remediating the pond as well as data on discharges. He declined further comment.
Robert Ludwig of RL Water Consulting was hired by Mann to conduct monthly samplings of seepage from the lagoon. He said the cease-and-desist order gave the state “teeth” to address the ongoing problem.
“It’s getting her (Mann) moving, which is good,” Ludwig said. “It’s getting the wheels in motion, which is good because we have to get something done out there.”
Ludwig said now that Mann is subject to daily fines, the proper steps are being taken, and he believes the mobile home park will meet the terms of the state’s order. He said an upgraded facility could cost about $500,000.
Ludwig, who has been testing the park’s groundwater well, said he will hold an informative community meeting on Tuesday for residents of Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
