The community of Donner Summit faces penalties of $49,000 for numerous violations of permitted effluent limits and monitoring requirements at its wastewater treatment plant.

The assistant executive officer of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board issued administrative civil liability complaints for assessment of mandatory minimum penalties, or MMPs. These complaints may be considered at the Central Valley Water Board's regular public meeting on Feb. 5 or 6, 2009.

Donner Summit Public Utilities District faces a total of $49,000 in penalties. Of this amount, $24,000 is in the form of MMPs for violations of the nitrate and ammonia effluent limitations that occurred at the wastewater treatment plant from Jan. 1, 2007 through Sept. 30. An additional $25,000 in discretionary penalties was assessed because the district did not comply with its time schedule order to upgrade the treatment plant to meet the nitrate effluent limitation. The nitrate concentrations in the wastewater contributed to algal growths in the South Yuba River, in violation of the receiving water limitations.

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board is a California state agency responsible for preservation and enhancement of quality in water resources.