{"id":26959,"date":"2016-07-28T12:57:02","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T17:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=26959"},"modified":"2016-07-28T20:05:56","modified_gmt":"2016-07-29T01:05:56","slug":"why-city-of-hugo-hasnt-seen-one-cent-of-record-settlement-over-improperly-treated-drinking-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2016\/07\/28\/why-city-of-hugo-hasnt-seen-one-cent-of-record-settlement-over-improperly-treated-drinking-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Why City of Hugo Hasn\u2019t Seen One Cent of Record Settlement Over Improperly Treated Drinking Water"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_26977\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26977\" alt=\"Hugo, Okla., interim City Manager David Rawls. \" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-HugoManager.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-HugoManager.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-HugoManager-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-HugoManager-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-HugoManager-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hugo, Okla., interim City Manager David Rawls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Oklahoma\u2019s primary environmental agency made a private contractor pay just under $1 million earlier in a settlement over improperly treated water in a small city in southern Oklahoma. But the state\u2019s budget shortfall swallowed up the money before the city of Hugo had a chance to use it.<\/p><p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/275850793&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=false\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p><p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">By early 2015, the state Department of Environmental Quality had detected problems with the way UK-based Severn Trent was treating the water in Hugo. Later that year, <a title=\"JournalRecordLink\" href=\"http:\/\/journalrecord.com\/2015\/08\/04\/boiling-over-how-a-multinational-company-left-hugo-with-unsafe-water-general-news\/\" target=\"_blank\">a Journal Record report exposed the company<\/a> didn\u2019t properly disinfect drinking water for more than 300 days over the course of two years, and a Facebook photo of a toddler bathing in brown water caught the attention of local TV news teams.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-26982\" alt=\"PHOTO-7-28-Bathtub\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Bathtub.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Bathtub.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Bathtub-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Bathtub-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Bathtub-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><\/h3>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><\/h3>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><\/h3>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><\/h3>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><\/h3><p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">There one day, gone the next<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In response, DEQ proposed the biggest fine in its history \u2014 $3.1 million \u2014 against Severn Trent. The company challenged the fine, and <a title=\"NewsOKlink\" href=\"http:\/\/newsok.com\/article\/5485478\">settled with the agency for about $1 million<\/a>, which included a fine of $25,000. Much of the rest of the settlement money was supposed to help the city make urgent updates at its water plant. But Hugo City Manager David Rawls says that never happened.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe state took the money. All the money is no longer sitting at DEQ,\u201d he says. \u201cAll I know is I got a call and they told me the money was no longer there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Rawls isn\u2019t mad at the environmental agency. He points the finger of blame at state lawmakers.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe state of the economy in the state of Oklahoma right now, the scrambling for the $1.3 billion shortfall, I pretty much think that\u2019s the culprit,\u201d Rawls says. \u201cI don\u2019t think the personnel at DEQ had any idea the state was going to reach in and take it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">DEQ keeps fine money \u2014 like what it collected from Severn Trent \u2014 in an agency fund separate from its state appropriation. That revolving fund was raided by the legislature this year to balance the budget. Lawmakers directed the agency to use the money to fund other core services. DEQ Deputy Director Jimmy Givens says that directive forced the agency to make hard choices.<\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\">DEQ On the Budget Brink<\/h3>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWhat we do is take our revolving fund as a whole and try to decide where our priorities for this year have to lie. And the top priority is to administer those programs that we\u2019re either required to administer by statute, or that EPA requires us to administer,\u201d Givens says.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">If Oklahoma\u2019s Department of Environmental Quality can\u2019t fund those EPA mandated programs, the federal government can step in and take control. <a title=\"StateImpactLink\" href=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2013\/01\/10\/oklahoma-needs-2-million-to-prevent-an-epa-takeover-of-its-drinking-water\/\" target=\"_blank\">That almost happened three years ago<\/a> to a <a title=\"EPAlink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/dwreginfo\/public-water-system-supervision-pwss-grant-program\" target=\"_blank\">program that monitors the safety of drinking water across the state<\/a>. Since then, DEQ\u2019s funding situation has gotten worse.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIn total we\u2019re looking at cuts over the past three or four fiscal years that exceed $30 million,\u201d Givens says.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_26978\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-26978\" alt=\"Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Deputy Director Jimmy Givens.\" src=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Givens.jpg\" width=\"620\" height=\"413\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Givens.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Givens-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Givens-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/files\/2016\/07\/PHOTO-7-28-Givens-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Logan Layden \/ StateImpact Oklahoma<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Deputy Director Jimmy Givens.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Those cuts blocked settlement money from reaching Hugo, and they\u2019ve jeopardized many other programs at the environmental agency. That means fewer inspections of water systems and slower response times when there are problems. Some DEQ offices are closing. The cuts impact internal operations and publicly visible projects.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cFor example, we have several tire dumps that we had intended to clean up early in this fiscal year,\u201d Givens says. \u201cThat will at best be delayed because of money that was taken out of the used tire recycling revolving fund.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">DEQ\u2019s budgetary pain is trickling down to the people and communities the agency is supposed to protect, like Hugo. David Rawls, the city manager, says losing the settlement money left his community in a tight spot.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cWe\u2019ve already voted to build a new $10 million water plant. That funding was planned on for that,\u201d Rawls says. \u201cThere was no warning. One day it was there, and the next day I got a phone call that said it\u2019s not there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Now Hugo is scrambling for money. City officials hope to get some from a <a title=\"KGOUlink\" href=\"http:\/\/kgou.org\/post\/hugo-files-lawsuit-alleging-fraud-negligence-water-treatment-company#stream\/0\" target=\"_blank\">separate lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0filed in Choctaw County in April against Severn Trent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oklahoma\u2019s environmental agency made a private contractor pay just under $1 million earlier this year for improperly treating water in a small southern Oklahoma town. But the state\u2019s budget shortfall swallowed up the money before the city of Hugo had a chance to use it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":26977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[491],"tags":[561,263,427],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26959"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26959"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26998,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26959\/revisions\/26998"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}