CALAIS – The Department of Environmental Protection has proposed a fine of $55,000 against the city, saying that the quality of operation, maintenance and monitoring of Calais’ wastewater treatment system was the worst the state agency has seen in years.

The city is being fined for violations that date back five years.

DEP officials said Friday they were awaiting a response from the city. “We believe this proposed penalty is reasonable and appropriate,” spokesman John Glowa Sr. of the DEP’s Bureau of Land and Water Quality enforcement section said in an Oct. 14 letter to the city.

The state also is waiting for a proposal from the city on supplemental environmental projects to mitigate the cash payment. The city has 14 days to respond to the DEP’s offer.

The Calais City Council reviewed the proposed DEP fine at its meeting Thursday night.

City Manager Linda Pagels explained that up to 80 percent of the fine could be paid in supplemental environmental projects that could include anything from riprapping the river to replacing a water distribution line to improve water quality.

In their motion, the councilors voted to pay the DEP “less than $50,000” as long as the DEP agreed that the supplemental environment projects are flexible and could be used to offset 80 percent of the cost of the fine.

In April, the DEP sent the city a proposed administrative consent agreement detailing the violations and setting the fine at $86,820. After months of negotiation, the city was able to get the state to reduce the fine.

At the Thursday night meeting, the councilors invited state Rep. Anne Perry, D-Calais, to the meeting to see whether she could intercede on behalf of the city to get the fine reduced even more.

“This poor performance and failure to properly maintain the facility as well as report non-compliance of the facility cannot be overstated,” DEP staff people said in an April report issued to the city.

The report did say now that City Manager Linda Pagels is on board, Calais had demonstrated “a willingness to turn over a new leaf.”

Last year, the report said, the city removed the wastewater treatment operator and hired Olver Associates of Winterport to operate the facility.

“As of this time, Olver is also overseeing immediate corrective actions and is developing a plan for a facility upgrade,” the report said. “The effort by Calais to bring the facility into compliance appears to be greatly increased and the efforts to keep the department informed are greatly improved.”

According to the proposed consent agreement, the DEP has documented “a minimum of 50 examples in which Calais failed to maintain the facility in good working order and operate it at maximum efficiency.”

Although the problems date back five years, last year was a particularly bad year for the wastewater treatment facility when in May 2002 more than 100,000 gallons per day of raw sewage spilled into the St. Croix River.

An estimated half-million gallons of sewage overflowed in underground storage tanks at the facility and into Union Brook before the problem was fixed.

After the meeting, Perry said she hoped to meet with the commissioner of the DEP next week.

“What they really are asking me to do is be another voice to make sure that communication stays open and to look at it on a little more of a political level,” the state representative said.