EPA Enforcement Roundup: Week of 12/9

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:

A Missouri chemical facility allegedly failed to comply with the Clean Air Act after an ethylene oxide release.

EPA says the company violated the Clean Air Act by failing to:

• Develop operating procedures and conduct hazard analyses for preventing and/or responding to accidental releases of EtO.
• Fix malfunctioning EtO alarms, which allowed the April 2022 EtO release to continue for over seven hours.
• Conduct required audits of the facility’s compliance with the Clean Air Act and correct deficiencies identified in prior audits.
• Conduct annual coordination with emergency responders.
• Have written safety information for the facility’s ventilation system.
• Update the facility’s Risk Management Plan every five years.

Two Kansas plastic packaging companies will spend ~$900k on penalties and facility upgrades to resolve alleged RCRA violations.

The facilities both manufacture food-grade packaging, and both allegedly operated a TSDF without a permit and failed to:

• Comply with universal waste and used oil management regulations.
• Conduct hazardous waste determinations.
• Provide required notification to the state about changes in company operations.

Specifically, the companies will collectively pay a civil penalty of $182,879 and spend more than $700,000 on upgrades to resolve these alleged Resource Conservation and Recovery Act violations.

A chemical facility in Ohio faces $10,800 in penalties due to alleged hazardous waste violations.

According to Ohio EPA, the facility operated as a TSDF without a permit and failed to:

• Accurately count hazard waste and properly determine its generator category.
• Mark accumulation containers with accumulation dates and an indication of the hazards.
• Mark hazardous waste containers with the words “hazardous waste.”
• Train hazardous waste personnel and document training.
• Document arrangements with local emergency responders.
• Create a complete contingency plan and submit copies of the continency plan to all local emergency responders.
• Label and close containers containing universal waste.
• Demonstrate the length of time universal waste was accumulating.

Complete Environmental Regulations Training

Want a clearer idea of how major EPA air, water, and chemical programs all fit together to affect your site's activities? Join in on the next Complete Environmental Regulations Webinar on December 19–20 at Lion.com.

EH&S professionals who attend 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. Prefer to train at your own pace? Try the interactive online course.