DEQ fines Redmond RV park owner over sewage violations
A Portland couple faces more than $23,000 in fines from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for on-site sewage violations at RV parks in Redmond and Warrenton, the agency said.
The agency said two RV parks tied to Ken Hick and Cheri Cooley-Hick have been plagued by sewage on the ground, posing a health threat to residents.
The DEQ issued a $6,825 penalty to Resources Northwest, Inc. for onsite wastewater violations at the Sunset Lake RV Park, 33242 Sunset Beach Lane in Warrenton. The company president is Ken Hick.
DEQ also issued a $16,788 penalty to Cheri Dawn Cooley-Hick, Ken Hick’s wife, for sewage treatment and disposal violations related to the Cline Falls Mobile Home Park in Redmond. The Hicks own and operate several RV parks in Oregon.
This is the third enforcement action in two years issued to Resources Northwest, Inc., the company affiliated with Ken Hick and the RV park in Warrenton.
The company exceeded daily flow limits from January through October of 2015, which caused the drainfield to fail and resulted in the discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage to the ground, the DEQ said.
The daily flow limit is an important provision intended to ensure that wastewater is treated sufficiently to protect human health and the environment, the agency said. DEQ issued a $2,475 penalty for the flow exceedances, and a $4,350 penalty for owning or operating an onsite system that was discharging sewage onto the ground.
Due to high flows, the drainfield failed and regularly discharged sewage onto the ground surface between September 21 and November 6, 2015.
DEQ penalized Cheri Cooley-Hick because the wastewater treatment system serving some of the park residents has been failing since at least August 2015, resulting in sewage on the ground, a violation of state law. The Cline Falls Mobile Home Park is located at 7915 West Highway 126 in Redmond.
Sewage on the ground poses a public health hazard through either direct human contact or through exposed animals or insects that can transmit disease to people living nearby. It can also harm aquatic life, contaminate drinking water and impair recreational waterbodies.
