DEQ cites City of Lawton for treatment violations at wastewater plant

The City of Lawton has received a notice of violation from state officials, alleging illegal discharges from its wastewater plant.

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) issued the notice Thursday, specifying the city was receiving a notice of apparent violations of the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Code.

Inspectors said discharge monitoring reports issued by the City of Lawton showed 19 violations since December: six each associated with ammonia, total suspended solids and five-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand; and one for dissolved oxygen. All four are measurements specified for effluent (water discharged from a treatment plant into an outside water source).

ODEQ also said an environmental programs specialist — responding to a citizen complaint that Nine Mile Creek stank of sewage — investigated the site three times and noticed that on Jan. 18, the plant’s effluent “had the gray appearance and odor of sewage, which is indicative that the WWTF (wastewater treatment facility) was only providing partial secondary biological treatment.” He observed the same problem on Feb. 26; on April 11, he said while plant discharge was gray, it did not have the odor of sewage.

ODEQ also said that the agency received six complaints between Feb. 26 and April 10, regarding “the ability of the WWTF to provide sufficient wastewater treatment and/or the adversely impacted state of Nine Mile Creek and/or East Cache Creek”, with cited locations in Comanche and Cotton counties. The plant, located southeast of Lawton, discharges its effluent into Nine Mile Creek, which ultimately flows into East Cache Creek.

ODEQ’s notice states Lawton is discharging pollutants in excess of its Oklahoma Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, and must correct the problems to stop the violations and to submit a written report to ODEQ within 30 days of receiving the notice of violation. Failure to do so will result in “escalated enforcement action against you,” the order states.

In a press release issued early Friday, city officials acknowledged receipt of the notice of violations.

“We take these matters seriously,” Public Utilities Director Rusty Whisenhunt said in a statement. “We are experiencing issues in removing TSS (total suspended solids) and ammonia, as we have disclosed to the public through various channels. However, the excess of TSS and ammonia have led to increased levels in CBOD5 (five-day carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand) and lower DO (dissolved oxygen) levels in the plant effluent.”

City administrators said they are working to mitigate those high levels. Measures include improving biological activity in the plant’s aeration basins, and addressing the influent (water coming into the plant) structure and removal of solids and grit that place a large strain on efforts to maintain an acceptable standard in effluent.

City officials also said Lawton has a history of cooperation with regulatory authorities, as evidenced by its agreement to DEQ’s May 2021 consent order. The city committed $85 million for the first phase of upgrades to its facilities as a result, a process that continues. Those upgrades, designed to address problem areas, are projected for completion by summer 2025.

“We understand the frustration this has caused among our community, and we are fully committed to remedy the problem,” City Manager John Ratliff said. “We encourage anyone with concerns regarding the wastewater treatment plant to continue to reach out to the city directly, or report issues to the DEQ for further investigation.”