We have a brand new updated website! Click here to check it out!

Topeka to pay $10K for sewage release

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 10.38.28 AMTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka officials say the city will pay a $10,000 fine for the accidental release of 3 million gallons of raw sewage into the Kansas River earlier this year.

The $10,000 fine is part of a consent agreement reached between the city and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The city says the money will come from the city’s wastewater fund.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the agreement also requires Topeka to implement an emergency notification plan. That plan would involve warning residents of Lawrence, Olathe and Johnson County Water District No. 1 within 24 hours of finding a hazardous sewage release.

Doug Gerber, deputy city manager, says the April 17 spill was caused by an internal power failure, which has since been addressed “multiple times over.”

Copyright Eagle Radio | FCC Public Files | EEO Public File