Inspectors documented sewage pooling around the property and flowing downhill toward a tributary of Sand Run after a sanitary lift station malfunctioned
WELLSTON, Ohio — A Jackson County apartment complex has been cited by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency after inspectors found a malfunctioning sewage lift station was releasing raw sewage onto the ground and into local waterways.
The Ohio EPA issued a Notice of Violation on Oct. 7 to Wellston Villa Limited Partnership over conditions at Wellston Villa Apartments, 710 N. Pennsylvania Ave. in Wellston.
The investigation began after the Jackson County Health Department reported a sanitary lift station overflow to the Ohio EPA’s Division of Surface Water on Sept. 29.
State inspectors visited the property the following day and confirmed that the lift station was malfunctioning, resulting in an unauthorized sewage discharge.
Photographs included with the notice show raw sewage surrounding clean-outs along the apartment complex, pooling on the ground and moving down a slope behind the property. Other photographs show sewage entering a swale downhill from the apartments.
The EPA identified the swale as draining toward an unnamed tributary of Sand Run.
Inspectors also photographed hydrated lime that had been placed over portions of the sewage-contaminated ground.
The agency said the discharge violated Ohio Revised Code 6111.04(A) and Ohio Administrative Code 3745-33-02(A), which prohibit unauthorized discharges of pollutants to waters of the state.
Ohio EPA representatives spoke with officials from Premier Management LLC, the company managing the apartment complex, on Sept. 30 about the discharge.
The agency ordered the property owner and management to immediately stop the unauthorized discharge and take several corrective actions.
Those actions include hauling sewage to the Wellston wastewater treatment plant using a Jackson County-licensed septage hauler, repairing or replacing pumps at the lift station, removing trash and pooled sewage from the affected area and applying lime to contaminated ground.
The company must also provide written documentation showing the lift station has been repaired and submit a plan explaining how it intends to prevent similar sewage discharges in the future.
Ohio EPA gave Wellston Villa Apartments seven days after receiving the notice to document what has been done or is planned to correct the violation.
The agency warned that failure to comply with Ohio water pollution laws could result in administrative or civil penalties.
