EPA Enforcement Roundup: Week of 12/18

US businesses are subject to complex, overlapping environmental regulations related to air emissions, discharges to water, hazardous waste management and disposal, oil spills, chemical management, and more. Failure to comply with all applicable US EPA requirements can result in future liability and civil penalties as high as $100,000+ per day, per violation.

The EPA Enforcement Roundup highlights enforcement actions that offer insight into how and why US EPA and state partners assess penalties for noncompliance for environmental regulations.

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 Oregon vape shop and wholesaler faces $32,700 in penalties for alleged hazardous waste management violations.

Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality notified the company that its nicotine-containing waste is acutely hazardous and highly regulated and that the Department issued a penalty of $32,700 for alleged hazardous waste management violations at three of the company’s facilities. Because nicotine is a hazardous waste, shipping or mailing vape juice for disposal without a manifest is a violation of the RCRA hazardous waste management regulations.

The allegations include transporting hazardous waste without a manifest; failing to determine whether wastes were hazardous; storing hazardous waste for longer than allowed without a permit; and failing to prepare contingency plans.

An ice cream manufacturer cited for Clean Air Act RMP violations will conduct complete system safety audits at six facilities across the US—and pay a six-figure civil penalty. 

EPA alleges that the company failed to comply with Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements for handling and storing ammonia used in refrigeration equipment. Alleged violations include missing alarms, failure to label equipment, and not following best practices for equipment installation. 

EPA also claims the ice cream maker failed to meet chemical accident prevention responsibilities, citing damaged pipe insulation, a minor leak from a valve, and failure to inspect piping. 

The company will conduct complete system safety audits at its six RMP facilities across the US as part of the settlement—all its facilities that are covered by the CAA Risk Management Program regulations. The civil penalty of $115,849 “includes a separate EPA assessment regarding a recent ammonia release” which was caused by a forklift incident.

A nationwide wellness/CBD company faces a $370,000 settlement due to alleged Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) violations.

Per the Agency, the company sold and/or distributed six antimicrobial pesticides without registering the products with EPA—a direct violation of FIFRA.

Civil penalties were assessed at $120,720 with the larger portion of the settlement requiring a donation of products valued at $250,000 be made to a local nonprofit. The company will make five donations worth $50,000 over five years which will include medical equipment like PPE, hand sanitizer, and antiseptic wipes.

Complete EPA Regulations Training at Your Own Pace

Want a clearer idea of how major EPA air, water, and chemical programs all fit together to affect your site's activities? Sign up for the Complete Environmental Regulations online course.

EH&S professionals who complete this course can identify the regulations that apply to their facility and locate key requirements to achieve compliance with the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts to EPCRA, TSCA, Superfund, and more.

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