Longstanding failure to comply with drinking-water laws results in $245,000 in civil penalties

In a decision by Judge Howells, the owner of five public water systems for subdivisions and mobile home parks was ordered to pay $245,000 in civil penalties. The penalties arose from the owner’s continued violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, including repeated failures to collect water samples for testing. Judge Howells concluded the owner’s actions “can only be considered knowing, intentional, and willful,” given his continued noncompliance over the course of a decade.