While much of the nation’s environmental enforcement attention has been on Volkswagen’s Clean Air Act violations and their class action settlement of more than $10 billion, it’s the other enforcements that might be of greater interest.
If you follow our newsletters and blog, you may recall that earlier this year we shared with you that, according to their National Enforcement Initiatives, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would continue to focus on food processors. Based on what we have observed, especially as it relates to Risk Management Plans (RMPs) at food service and retail, the EPA certainly has continued an enforcement focus that is more untraditional for the agency.
Trader Joe’s Environmental Fine
The most visible of the RMP fines was the $2.5-Million penalty for leaks of the refrigeration coolant, hydrofluorocarbon, at 453 Trader Joe’s stores. This is similar to previous violations at Costco ($2.3 million in fines and projects) and Safeway ($4.7 million in fines and projects), which are not exactly in the group of companies that come to mind when you think of environmental violations.
According to the EPA, “Trader Joe’s will spend an estimated $2 million over the next three years to reduce coolant leaks from refrigerators and other equipment and improve company-wide compliance.” Trader Joe’s will also pay a $500,000 civil penalty.
More RMP Fines
The Penobscot McCrum’s potato processing plant was also fined for RMP violations. According to the EPA, the potato processing plant was fined $60,500 and will spend another $83,400 on equipment for emergency responders and on public safety improvements. The original complaint was filed on September 30, 2015.
In another RMP violation, this time a municipality, the city of Fort Dodge, Iowa, failed to develop and implement a RMP for the city’s Wastewater Treatment plant. This resulted in a $20,000 fine and (at least) $200,000 in supplemental environmental projects.
Clean Water Act Violations
Finally, a brewery in Pennsylvania (Yuengling) was fined for “…persistent violations of industrial wastewater discharge permits over the past 10 years.” According to the EPA, “In total, EPA identified 141 IU permit violations, which are referenced in the complaint and will be resolved by the consent decree.” In the June 23, 2016, press release from the US Department of Justice, “In a consent decree filed today in federal court in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the company has agreed to spend approximately $7 million to improve environmental measures at its brewery operations after it allegedly discharged pollutants into the Greater Pottsville Area Sewer Authority municipal wastewater treatment plant. Yuengling will also pay a $2.8 million penalty.”
Over the past several years, Dragun has worked with many of the “non-smoke stack” companies who have recognized that RMPs, the Clean Water Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act can, and many times do, apply to them. We’ve been able to assist them in developing and implementing compliance programs at multiple facilities.
Environmental Advice for the Service Sector
With what appears to be an increased focus by the EPA on the service side of our economy, and assuming you don’t have full-time environmental staff, here are few suggested actions you might consider.
- Make sure your senior staff at each location are aware of the various environmental regulations that may apply. Further, make sure they know what to do (and what not to do) if a local, state, or federal environmental inspector shows up at their store or facility.
- Talk to your environmental advisors and ask if you should consider an environmental compliance audit to assess your current compliance status.
- We strongly suggest that if you are considering an audit, you also consider engaging legal counsel. In most instances, it is better to have legal counsel retain your technical advisors directly, as this will afford you additional legal protection if violations are discovered.
There has been an undeniable trend of “successful” enforcement actions by the EPA on service and retail companies. If you are not sure of your compliance status, it might make sense to prioritize this issue in the near future.
If you have questions about environmental compliance, please feel free to contact Jeffrey Bolin, M.S., CHMM (jbolin@dragun.com) or Matthew Schroeder, M.S., P.E., (mschroeder@dragun.com) at 248-932-0228. Both Jeff and Matt have extensive experience in environmental compliance.