CUNEY, Texas (KLTV) - The City of Cuney has been ordered to pay $33,150 in penalties after state regulators issued a default order due to local officials failing to address a series of wastewater violations.

The penalties stem from three primary violations from August 2020 through July 2022 at the city's wastewater treatment plant, located at 495 County Road 3314 in Cherokee County, according to the order issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

Investigators found that city officials failed to comply with permitted effluent limitations and discharged improperly treated sewage containing high levels of pollutants into the surrounding environment.