DES MOINES – Two former wastewater operators from Sioux City have agreed to permanently surrender their wastewater operator certifications following discovery by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that treatment procedures within the city’s wastewater operation were being manipulated.
Jay Niday and Patrick Schwarte, both of Sioux City, have entered a consent order with the DNR to surrender their certifications and agreed not to appeal the revocations.
The certification revocations came after discovery by the DNR that the chlorine feed at the facility was being improperly manipulated. Chlorine dosages were dramatically increased on days when E. coli samples were taken and then turned back once the sampling was complete, a practice that had been occurring for years, DNR investigators found.
The consent order noted that Niday, formerly the operator in charge of the Sioux City Sewage Treatment Plant, and Schwarte, a shift supervisor, should have known manipulation of the facility’s chlorine dosage is a violation of the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
There are currently 1,804 certified wastewater operators in the state of Iowa, according to DNR records. Certification is required to operate public wastewater treatment facilities. Perry currently employs three certified watewater treatment operators: Operator in Charge Dave Gliem, Regular Operator Bruce Timmons and Regular Operator Joshua Wuebker.
