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Contact: Julia Giarmoleo, Giarmoleo.Julia@epa.gov, 213-326-2033 EPA Issues Emergency
Orders to Four Mobile Home Parks in Thermal, Calif., to Ensure Drinking Water
is Safe THERMAL
(March. 22, 2022) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
has issued emergency orders under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) to four
mobile home park water systems, requiring the mobile home park owners to
comply with federal drinking water safety requirements and to identify and
correct problems with their drinking water systems that present a danger to
residents. The mobile home parks -- Arellano Mobile Home Park, Castro Ranch,
Gonzalez Mobile Home Park, and Sandoval Mobile Home Park -- are all located
on the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians’ Reservation
in California. None of the water systems were previously
registered with EPA and will now be required to comply with SDWA regulations. "These
emergency orders support EPA’s larger effort in the Eastern Coachella Valley
to ensure all drinking water systems comply with SDWA and provide safe
drinking water,” said Martha Guzman, EPA’s Regional Administrator for
the Pacific Southwest. “Mobile home park owners and all levels of
government must protect the health of residents and comply with federal law.” Today’s
announcement applies to four separate water systems, which EPA inspected and
sampled in November 2021. The systems' current source of drinking water is
groundwater that has naturally occurring arsenic. Arsenic is a known
carcinogen and drinking high levels over many years can increase the chance
of lung, bladder, and skin cancers, as well as heart disease,
diabetes, and neurological damage. The regulatory Maximum
Contaminant Level (MCL) for arsenic in drinking water is 10 parts per billion
(ppb). Based on
the sample results, all the systems are currently serving water that exceed
the arsenic MCL:
Under the
terms of EPA’s emergency orders, the owners of Arellano Mobile Home Park,
Castro Ranch, Gonzalez Mobile Home Park, and Sandoval Mobile Home Park are
required to:
EPA will
continue to oversee the systems’ efforts to follow SDWA requirements and may
levy civil penalties if the park owners fail to meet the compliance
provisions in the emergency orders. The
Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians have no direct control or ownership
of the water systems. EPA works closely with the Tribe and has consulted
their leadership about the violations. For more
information on EPA's drinking water program, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water. Learn more about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter. |
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
EPA Issues Emergency Orders to Four Mobile Home Parks in Thermal, Calif., to Ensure Drinking Water is Safe
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