State Still Intends To Fine RR for Violations

By ROSALIE RAYBURN Journal Staff Writer

The state Environment Department is pushing ahead with enforcement action against the city of Rio Rancho that could result in heavy fines for permit violations related to water used at Chamisa Hills Golf and Country Club.

Environment Department Secretary Ron Curry said he was “highly disappointed and surprised” by the city’s decision to sue instead of complying with the department’s request to produce a cleanup plan for Chamisa Hills.

“We thought we were going in a positive direction,” Curry said, in a phone interview on Thursday.

He said his department is drafting a compliance order, which will carry “substantial” fines. Department staff have previously said the fines could amount to $30,000 per day.

The city and the department are accusing each other of flipflopping over the cleanup issue.

As the city sees it, Environment Department officials first laid the blame for waterfowl deaths at Chamisa Hills Golf and Country Club on the club owners, saying the club needed a special water permit.

Then, the department changed tack, deciding that the city should be responsible and submit a plan by Feb. 27 showing how it would correct waterrelated problems at the golf course.

As Environment Department officials see it, the city misled them, indicating it was willing to do initial cleanup work at Chamisa Hills but balking when it came to taking action.

The department maintains the city is responsible because Rio Rancho holds the water discharge permit that allows Chamisa Hills to use treated city waste water for irrigation.

City leaders have said the club should be responsible.

“New Mexico Environment Department’s turning to the city to address Chamisa Hills’ obligations cannot be reconciled with the facts, law or logic,” City Manager Jim Payne said, in a letter faxed to the department on Wednesday.

The lawsuit the city filed Wednesday in Sandoval Coun ty’s 13th Judicial District Court said the Environment Department has provided no proof to support allegations the city violated its water discharge permit.

The city also denies the department’s allegation it violated the permit by discharging water into a nonpermitted area at Chamisa Hills.

“As a factual and legal matter, and as NMED (the department) previously concluded, responsibility for undertaking any necessary corrective actions at all the golf course lagoons lies with CHCC (Chamisa Hills),” the lawsuit says.

Curry said he initially believed Chamisa Hills should be responsible but changed his mind after further research into the history of the water permit.

That convinced him the city should perform the initial clean up because of its legacy as the permit holder. After the initial cleanup, Chamisa Hills should assume the ongoing responsibility under a new permit, he said.

Curry said he met multiple times with Mayor Michael Williams and Councilor Howard Balmer and Chamisa Hills owner Harry Apodaca. He believed they were all in agreement that the city should remove sludge and inspect the pond liners to ensure there was no threat of ground water contamination. Chamisa Hills would then take over.

Deputy Environment Department Secretary Jon Goldstein said City Manager Jim Payne told him on Tuesday that the city would meet a Wednesday deadline to submit a cleanup plan.

“The real change here to us is the constant lack of any clear communication or leadership or decision-making. They tell us one thing and they do another,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein has previously said the city could be liable for $15,000 per violation per day.

The lawsuit was the city’s response to a notice of violation it received from the Environment Department in January. The notice required the city to submit an action plan to correct water-related problems in ponds at Chamisa Hills that the department believes are linked to waterfowl deaths.

Residents who live near Chamisa Hills found dead waterfowl near some of the golf course ponds in 2006. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish determined the birds died of avian botulism, a bacteria that can thrive in stagnant water and pond sediment.

The department alleged the city failed to inspect the ponds and required the city to submit a plan to remove pond sludge and investigate the condition of the pond liners.

The city is also suing Chamisa Hills, saying the club is responsible for pond inspection and maintenance under an Effluent Use Agreement, which was approved by the Environment department as part of the water permit.

The lawsuit says the department provided no “technical or factual basis” for allegations that the pond liners were damaged.

It denies that the city provided water to any unpermitted ponds.

The lawsuit asks the court to review the disputed responsibilities and block the department from levying fines.

It asks the court to order Chamisa Hills to honor its agreement, take any corrective action necessary and be responsible for the cost.

Payne’s letter to the department said an independent investigation by Albuquerque engineering company CDM found no evidence that sludge accumulated in the ponds at Chamisa Hills is causing water quality problems in the ponds or local ground water.

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