As many prepare for the July 1st reporting deadline for the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), we receive news of a significant regulatory enforcement action by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
In case you missed it, Tonawanda Coke was on the receiving end of an EPA enforcement action for violations under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA). EPA’s May 2015 announcement said that Tonawanda Coke paid $12 million to address the violations.
Specific to EPCRA, the EPA states, “Under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act, Tonawanda failed to report that it manufactured benzene and ammonia in quantities that exceeded the
25,000 pound per year reporting threshold.” The reporting threshold for reporting (TRI Chemicals) is 25,000 pounds manufactured or processed, or 10,000 pounds otherwise used.
We have previously expressed misgivings about the approach some regulators might use in communicating reporting obligations under EPCRA, but failure to report is simply an invitation for much larger problems.
As we all know, trying to predict federal or state environmental enforcement action is virtually impossible. However, we have seen signs of a more active enforcement program from EPA.
For example, last year there was a renewed focus on issues related to Environmental Justice. The EPA stated in their Fiscal Year 2014–2018 EPA Strategic Plan that one of their objectives is to, “Protect human health and the environment through vigorous and targeted civil and criminal enforcement” (emphasis added).
The bottom line… it is always best to stay ahead of the compliance curve and avoid being on the receiving end of “vigorous and targeted…enforcement.”
As it relates to the approaching July 1st deadline for TRI, you might want to review our January 14th blog where we provided a general guide for TRI Reporting obligations along with some helpful hints.
If you need assistance with TRI reporting or any other environmental compliance issue, contact either Matt Schroeder, P.E., (mschroeder@dragun.com) or Amy Owen, P.E., (aowen@dragun.com)
at 248-932-0228.