EPA Enforcement Roundup: Week of 4/29

The EPA Enforcement Roundup gives you insight into how and why US EPA and State partners assess penalties for environmental noncompliance. 

All violations or claims discussed below are alleged only unless we say otherwise, and we withhold the names of organizations and individuals to protect their privacy.

Your EPA Enforcement Roundup for this week:

An electrical conductor manufacturer in Rhode Island will pay a $59,044 penalty as part of a settlement with US EPA.

The East Providence, Rhode Island-based manufacturer settled with EPA to resolve seven alleged violations. EPA alleges the company failed to:

• minimize the possibility of fire, explosion, or unplanned release of hazardous waste.
• maintain adequate aisle space between waste containers.
• conduct weekly inspections.
• keep waste containers closed, labelled, and dated.
• provide the company’s contingency plan to local authorities.

Per EPA, the company generates cyanide waste through some of its activities at the facility as a job shop, providing molding, reel-to-reel plating, skiving, and assembly of electrical connectors.

A Maryland oil recycling facility will pay a penalty to settle alleged environmental violations.

The recycling facility will pay a $230,000 penalty to settle alleged Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and RCRA violations at its Baltimore facility.

Alleged violations are related to the processing, recycling, and disposal of waste oil material, including the operation of bulk storage tanks, with concomitant risks of emissions of hazardous air pollutants.

The facility receives, separates, and stores petroleum-contaminated hazardous and non-hazardous waste materials, including liquids, sludge, and solids for disposal, processing, and recycling. Prior to this settlement, the company and EPA entered a compliance order requiring PMI to take actions to come into compliance with the CAA, RCRA, and CWA.

Two landowners face $10,000 in penalties for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act.

The owners allegedly cleared over five acres of wetlands adjacent to Crooked Creek using heavy equipment. The unpermitted work resulted in the moving and discharge of organic and mineral soils, gravel, overburden, logs and woody debris into wetlands, including some located on property owned by the state of Alaska.

In addition to paying a penalty, the landowners will implement extensive fill removal and wetland habitat restoration activities under an approved restoration work plan, conduct annual monitoring for five years, and preserve over five acres of wetlands important for birds and wildlife.

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Tags: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, EPA, EPA Enforcement Roundup, hazardous waste management, RCRA