Rexburg faces lawsuit from Idaho DEQ for polluting South Fork Teton River

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) – The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is suing the City of Rexburg for polluting the South Fork of the Teton River.

The DEQ’s action last week comes after pressure from two environmental groups.

In February, the Boise-based Idaho Conservation League and Snake River Waterkeeper notified Rexburg and Burley of the groups’ intent to sue for Clean Water Act violations at the cities’ wastewater treatment plants.

“We already have a river that has too much of certain pollutants, and so we really want to avoid exacerbating that – making that any worse,” Idaho Conservation League’s Regulatory Program Manager Will Tiedemann said.

The treated wastewater is discharged into the Teton and Snake Rivers.

In the last five years, Rexburg’s plant self-reported 45 violations for sediment, nitrogen and biological oxygen demand pollution exceeding federal standards.

“Sediment reduces water clarity and can harm aquatic life; nitrogen can act as a fertilizer promoting both nuisance and toxic algae growth; and biological oxygen demand is a measure of how quickly micro-organisms remove oxygen from water, which at high levels can kill fish,” the environmental non-profits stated in a news release.

Violations ranged from four percent to 2400 percent above legal limits, said Tiedemann.

This can be harmful to recreators, swimmers, fish and others using the Teton River.

In a statement to Local News 8, Rexburg Mayor Jerry Merill said, “The City of Rexburg is aware of the complaint filed by the DEQ and is actively working with the agency to address the issues identified.”

However, achieving compliance with the Clean Water Act standards could require upgrades costing millions of dollars.

“The City’s focus is on maintaining reliable infrastructure and ensuring its wastewater systems meet applicable standards,” Rexburg’s statement continues. “We are committed to identifying practical, cost-effective solutions and making the necessary improvements to serve our residents.”

The Mayor stated that “this filing is part of an established regulatory process that allows the City and the DEQ to work through compliance matters in a structured way and establish a clear path forward. … We will continue to collaborate and work with the DEQ as this process moves forward.”

Meanwhile, the Idaho Conservation League maintains that lawsuits are one of the most effective means to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act, originally passed in the 1970s.

“We hope folks understand, and they believe in clean water just as much as we do,” Tiedemann said. “We hope that they want their city to come in compliance and treat, ultimately, their wastewater as a community, to have a happy, healthy community and a happy, healthy South Fork Teton and Snake River.”