DEP grants Trenton extension to fix water problems
TRENTON » If Trenton has failed to meet critical deadlines in the past, why does the state think that will change in the future?
In a head-scratching move, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) entered into a contract with the city on Wednesday, allowing for an extension for Trenton to fix its constant and growing issues at Trenton Water Works (TWW).
The administrative consent order will push back a timeline for Trenton to fix infrastructure, staffing, operational and public notification that have hampered the public utility over the past year and put at-risk 225,000 customers who drink the water.
“We are very pleased with the spirit of cooperation demonstrated by Mayor Eric E. Jackson and his administration in reaching this agreement, which outlines clear goals for bringing Trenton Water Works into compliance with all state requirements,” acting DEP Commissioner McCabe said in a statement. “The DEP and the city share the same goal — providing the customers of Trenton Water Works with a safe and reliable supply of drinking water.”
A majority of the deadlines outlined in the plan are June 29, 2018 — two days before Trenton Mayor Jackson, who will not seek re-election — is set to leave office.
Jackson’s administration has a history of missing crucial deadlines and TWW has been cited by DEP for numerous reporting failures on water quality testing.
According to a September report, TWW was operating with 68 vacancies, which is 39 percent of the utility’s staffing positions.
Due on June 29, 2018, according to the agreement are:
• A report outlining TWW’s complete system inventory and maintenance plan
• Updates and schedules of the Ewing Booster Station project
• Documentation that all TWW employees have received training regarding his or her responsibilities and obligations within the system, including relevant existing standard operating procedures and existing emergency protocols for emergencies, water filtration plant events and distribution system events
• Routine inspection as well as preventative maintenance procedures and schedules
• An action plan and schedule for providing validation protocols for system readings
• Modification of existing Emergency Response Plan to reflect deficiencies
• TWW shall improve its telephone outreach system so that it includes all customers within the Trenton water service area. Texts and emails may also be provided. For customers located outside of Trenton, TWW will notify local government leadership to ensure that all residents that utilize the water are properly and promptly notified. TWW is instructed to provide notifications when TWW becomes aware of any problem with water quality or delivery of water that may impact human health, safety, welfare or the environment. When problems arise, TWW is also ordered to immediately notify 1) customers within the City of Trenton by their telephone outreach system 2) DEP by telephone at 877-WARN-DEP 3) Mercer County OEM 4) Trenton police 5) the owners
of emergency interconnections with TWW’s system 6) identified local government leadership for all affected communities served by TWW outside of Trenton
• TWW shall train all staff on the Incident Command System/National Incident Management System
• Develop a map that clearly delineates the extent of the impacted service areas any time that an advisory is issued and have those maps readily available for public review during such an advisory
• TWW shall provide detailed reservoir metrics indicating key action levels and TWW’s emergency response to each level
• TWW shall conduct an interconnection evaluation for each interconnection noted in the Emergency Response Plan
• TWW shall compete and submit a revised Draft Emergency Action Plan
Other areas TWW must tackle include:
• A detailed plan for compliance with the Water Quality Accountability Act by Dec. 31, 2018
• An asset management program plan by April 19, 2019
• O&M manuals and procedures evaluated by a third party with the appropriate level of expertise and a report of the evaluation submitted to DEP by Dec. 31, 2018
• Conduct interconnection flow tests for all interconnections within the system by Dec. 31, 2018
• Fill these positions by April 5, 2018: chief pump operator, 3 senior operators, 5 operators, 4 assistant operators, 5 laboratory positions and 11 water repairer positions.
• Submit a letter to DEP identifying how it intends to meet the full staffing level by Aug. 5, 2018
• Complete the installation of the Reservoir cover by Jan. 14, 2023
• The Pennington Reservoir will be cleaned, repaired, covered, commissioned and tested and the entire project completed by July 31, 2023
• Monthly reports to DEP until all the items on the administrative consent order are complete
If Trenton fails to comply with the requirements, the city will face fines of $100 per $500 per calendar day the city is out of compliance.
DEP finalized the administrative consent order (ACO) at Trenton City Hall with mayors and officials from each of the municipalities served by TWW. In addition to serving Trenton, TWW distributes water sourced from the Delaware River to customers in Hamilton, Ewing, Lawrence and Hopewell townships.
“This ACO is the result of weeks of candid dialogue between the DEP and my administration,” Mayor Jackson said in a statement. “It is reflective of a new, collaborative partnership that leverages all of ours and the state’s resources to ensure the common goal of delivery of water in our distribution system according to state and federal standards. As well, it secures the retention of our water utility, which is one of the city’s greatest resources. I want to thank Acting Commissioner McCabe for her leadership in working with me to resolve this matter as agreed upon in the ACO.”
Over the past year, TWW water has turned all colors of the rainbow spectrum — from purple to yellow — and the public utility could not guarantee to its customers that the water was safe to drink because a broken filter went undetected for a three-month period. The city was also chastised by DEP for not notifying customers of boil advisories in a timely manner.
Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede said Wednesday that with the number of incidents recently DEP had “no choice but to increase their efforts with the water authority.”
Yaede, who was present at the DEP meeting at Trenton City Hall, said she raised issues about notification time. Under the agreement, Yaede says, Trenton must notify the neighboring municipalities of issues within 24 hours.
“The neighboring municipalities should receive the notification within 60 minutes,” the Hamilton mayor said. “When you’re dealing a public health crisis, particularly dealing with quality drinking water, notification is key. In this day and age of social media, getting information out quickly, timeliness is imperative.”
Much of the water
woes have occurred during Mayor Jackson’s tenure. The first-term mayor announced last month he
would not seek re-election in May.
Since he assumed office in July 2014, the city has been hit with 20 water violations from DEP, with 12 of them coming in 2017 — its worst year ever on record.
Yaede said also brought up in the meeting about Mayor Jackson’s tenure ending on July 1 and that many of the issues need to be addressed days before he leaves office.
“To make sure that the ACO deadlines are upheld and that communication with the neighboring municipality is to continue, they are going to draft a standard operating procedure that this will be followed regardless whom may be leading the
city of Trenton,” Yaede.
To try to right the ship, the city entered into an emergency $1.3 million contract with New York-based civil engineering company Wade Trim. The company will help address issues with “operation, distribution, maintenance and identification,” Trenton Public Works Director Merkle Cherry previously outlined, and will help the water department implement “some operational enhancements.”
DEP instructed the city numerous times to enter into an agreement with a third-party operator and the city missed multiple deadlines.
“The City’s inability or unwillingness to act with the urgency the current situation requires
potentially puts at risk the health of the 225,000 people TWW serves in the City of Trenton and in Ewing, Hamilton, Lawrence and Hopewell townships,” former DEP Commissioner Bob Martin wrote in the strongly worded letter to Jackson in early January. “The Department of Environmental Protection has been exceedingly patient with the city. We have worked very hard to assist you in meeting your responsibility to TWW’s customers. We have given you every opportunity to comply with our appropriate requests for corrective action.”
The new DEP agreement resolves notices of violations that Martin hit TWW with in July and January.