DES MOINES, Iowa — G&K Services was recently fined $450,000 for negligently discharging wastewater from its Pleasant Hill, Iowa, facility in violation of the Clean Water Act (CWA), according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt.
G&K Services, which offers uniform and facility services, previously pleaded guilty to the offense, Klinefeldt adds.
In imposing the fine, U.S. Magistrate Judge Ross A. Walters also ordered that G&K comply with the requirements of its permit with the Des Moines Metropolitan Wastewater Reclamation Authority (WRA) and the requirements of Ordinance No. 666 (industrial waste discharge) of the Municipal Code of Pleasant Hill.
According to the written plea agreement, on multiple occasions between October 2005 and Aug. 16, 2008, G&K’s industrial laundry facility on Metro East Drive in Pleasant Hill violated a requirement in its city-issued Pretreatment Permit that limits the total of oil and grease discharged to not more than 400 mg/l. G&K’s wastewater discharges exceeded the oil-and-grease effluent concentration limit.
“The Clean Water Act directs the United States Environmental Protection Agency to make known and enforce regulations establishing pretreatment wastewater standards for the levels of pollutants that are introduced into a publicly owned wastewater treatment facility,” Klinefeldt explains. “The EPA can also delegate state and local entities the authority to administer their own pretreatment permit program, and these requirements are federally enforceable.”
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].