From time to time, we use this blog to take a brief look at environmental enforcement action across the United States. Here are a few observations.
County Government hit with MS4 Violations
Salt Lake County, Utah, owns and operates a municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4) and was found to be in violation. Specifically, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated, “The County failed to develop and implement a stormwater pollution prevention and management program that minimizes the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable in violation of Section 402 of the Clean Water Act and the terms and conditions of its NPDES MS4 permit.”
Among the bulleted list of seven items were that the County failed to develop and implement a stormwater management plan that met the requirements of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System MS4 permit, and they failed to provide adequate resources.
The County will pay a civil penalty of $280,000.
This enforcement action is particularly noteworthy as MS4 Phase II requirements for smaller communities (those with populations less than 100,000) are only months away from becoming a final rule (November 17, 2016). We wrote about this recently in our Update on Stormwater Permitting for Smaller Communities. As noted in the enforcement action in Salt Lake County, one of the violations relates to the lack of adequate resources. We suspect smaller communities will face resource challenges in developing and implementing their MS4 programs.
Environmental compliance is a dynamic area and requires our constant monitoring to keep up with changes, as well as enforcement trends (Image Purchased from Shutterstock).
Record Superfund Fine
According to a report in HazMat Management, “Schneider Electric USA will pay a penalty totaling more than $6.8 million for allegedly violating the terms of a 2002 court-approved Superfund consent decree during its cleanup at the Rodale Manufacturing Superfund Site located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania.”
There have been larger cleanup settlements (e.g., the $55 million Shell Case, which was the largest “stipulated penalty” under Superfund).
Schneider Electric has issued a statement that says in part, “Schneider Electric takes seriously its responsibility to remediate the Rodale Manufacturing Site and has worked in good faith with the government to continue to protect public health and the environment…Schneider Electric regrets this matter and has worked with the EPA and Pa. DEP to implement several rigorous measures to improve our oversight at Rodale.”
How future fines and the size of those fines play out in the future will be worth watching, especially as there has been significant progress in cleaning up the abandoned sites (under Superfund) with hazardous waste over the past 35 years. You can read more about Superfund and the 35-year history of this program here.
Vermont Cheese Manufacturer Environmental Violations
Finally, a cheese manufacturing company in Vermont, Swan Valley Cheese, agreed to pay $100,000 to settle claims by the USEPA that they violated the Clean Air Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. According to reports, the company released 1,650 pounds of ammonia during maintenance operations. Following the release, the EPA inspected the operations and found numerous violations associated with the ammonia refrigeration system.
It has long been suspected by many that ammonia refrigeration is one of those easily overlooked environmental compliance items. Section 608 of the Clean Air Act provides details regarding venting of ozone-depleting compounds. For more information on reportable quantities for ammonia and other chemicals, see the “List of Lists.”
Environmental compliance is a dynamic area and requires our constant monitoring to keep up with changes, as well as enforcement trends. We will continue to do our best and report on news items that we believe you will find of interest.
If you need assistance with an environmental compliance matter, contact Matthew Schroeder, M.S., P.E. (mschroeder@dragun.com) or Jeffery Bolin, M.S., CHMM (jbolin@dragun.com). You may also want to follow our monthly 10-Second Environmental Compliance Check Ups.