Trailer parks across the state of Pennsylvania have run afoul of the law, literally. According to the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), a chain of trailer parks across the state has exhibited a pattern of serious, repeated violations of federal environmental regulations when it comes to drinking water and wastewater, and is now on the line for a cool $1,339,000.

The DEP, along with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has brokered a joint consent decree for this amount with GSP Management Co., Frank T. Perano and related companies, due to issues of this nature at 73 mobile home parks, 70 of which are in Pennsylvania. The legal action is meant to send a shot across the bow, so to speak, to other such parks in the state that may be running a less than clean operation.

image via Shutterstock

DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said, in a statement, “This should be a message to all—DEP is going to come down hard on those who show this type of disregard for our environmental protection laws.”

The wastewater violations discovered by DEP inspectors at GSP trailer parks across Pennsylvania include illegal discharge of partially treated or untreated sewage into nearby streams and failure to properly operate and maintain wastewater treatment facilities. The drinking water violations include exceeding federal drinking water standards for certain pollutants and failing to notify residents about drinking water problems. Negatively impacting the health of both trailer park residents and local ecosystems, these actions on the part of GSP were shown to violate both the Clean Streams Law and Safe Drinking Water Act.

The consent decree resolution will require not only cash from GSP and its affiliates, but specific corrective actions and ongoing environmental inspections at all 73 of its trailer parks, the results of which must be reported to DEP and EPA. The trailer park chain will also be required to hire an environmental consultant to develop an environmental management system that will help GSP achieve environmental compliance through control and monitoring of its operations.