Tolleson settles with EPA after its wastewater plant failed a 2022 inspection

PHOENIX — The city of Tolleson finalized a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) after it was slammed with a nearly $50,000 penalty for failing to comply with chemical safety laws.

During a Nov. 2022 inspection of the Tolleson Wastewater Treatment Plant, the EPA found many issues at the facility including:

• Failure to submit yearly hazardous required forms.
• Not completing compliance audits and approving standard hazard chemical analyses protocols.
• Not addressing equipment repair issues in a timely manner.
• Failing to properly document its chemical safety program, including safety information, equipment inspections and training records.

Federal laws are put in place to ensure the safe manufacturing, use, storage, and handling of hazardous chemicals.  The Tolleson Wastewater Treatment Plant uses chlorine, which is considered a regulated toxic chemical that may cause serious health effects, including eye, skin, throat and lung damage. Part of the settlement requires Tolleson to get back into compliance.

How will Tolleson deal with EPA water plant violations?

The city agreed to take on two voluntary supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) that will cost nearly $270,000, to improve its chlorine disinfection system.

The first part of the project includes putting in a new chlorine dosing and detection system. The second project is completing a disinfection alternatives study, which will help determine if it’s possible to use a less toxic chemical substance than chlorine for its disinfection process.

“Arizona residents should not have to live with the threat of exposure to harmful chemicals and hazardous waste,” EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman said in a press release. “EPA’s enforcement action holds facilities accountable when they fail to follow our nation’s critical chemical safety laws.”

After the failed inspection, Tolleson took action in order to meet compliance standards. The facility completed equipment repairs, installed new safety signage and added protection to outdoor chlorine cylinders, according to the EPA.

The agency says the plant has returned to compliance with most of the issues found during the inspection and Tolleson has promised to be in full compliance by the end of 2024.