An 11-month state investigation found Hogan & Associates Construction illegally released at least 518,000 gallons of contaminated water from a Park City School District construction site. The contractor is building the district’s Treasure Mountain Sports Complex on Kearns Boulevard, where the discharges occurred.
But in a written response to the Utah Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Sept. 2 notice of violation and compliance order, the contractor disputes some of the allegations.
The investigation says Hogan illegally dumped water into a nearby storm drain over 17 days between Sept. 9 and Oct. 8, 2025, totaling over 492,000 gallons of water. An Oct. 10, 2025, discharge directly into the Pace Homer Ditch — a tributary of Silver Creek — prompted the inquiry. Investigators estimate it totaled over 26,000 gallons.
Although pump activity logs showed no discharges into a nearby storm drain after Oct. 8, investigators found another unauthorized discharge occurred Oct. 13. Hogan’s subcontractor, Cearley SWPPP Management, listed a discharge on that day from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 40 gallons per minute.
Hogan disagrees, saying the entry was meant to account for the Oct. 10 discharge. Cearly corrected the entry in September of 2026.
Hogan also notes “the pumps may not have run at the flow rate or for the entire duration shown” in the pump activity report.
The investigation also suggests Hogan knew the water was contaminated with heavy metals when it was discharged into the local stream. That’s because tests from subcontractor R&R Environmental show it was contaminated with lead.
But Hogan points to an email from R&R saying the water results were “not hazardous.” That’s why the contractor believed it could discharge the water without a permit.
Still, the Treasure Mountain site is known to contain elevated levels of lead and arsenic. A permit is also required to remove any water from a construction site regardless of whether it is clean, contaminated or hazardous.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the term hazardous refers to materials that pose an inherent, acute risk; contaminated means a substance is present where it shouldn't be.
Hogan’s letter to the DEQ also includes a detailed report of all water discharges since the start of the project, including water quality sample data.
Illegal water dumping can come with a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per day of violation. To date, the state has not imposed a fine on Hogan.
