EPA Enforcement Roundup: Week of 7/22

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 fuel supplier settled with US EPA to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations related to a gasoline spill in Yellowstone.

US EPA announced the settlement resolving alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations involving a gasoline discharge into a tributary of the Madison River. An accident involving a gasoline tanker truck resulted in 4,800 gallons of gasoline flowing off the road, into adjacent wetlands, and through the wetland channel to the aforementioned tributary.

To resolve the allegations, the company has agreed to pay $20,000 and donate $45,000 worth of emergency response equipment and training to the responders that responded to the spill.

A Houston-based oil company faces a $241.5 million settlement related to hundreds of alleged Clean Air Act violations.

The settlement requires that the company pays a civil penalty of $64.5 million and implements extensive compliance measures to reduce harmful emissions from over 200 facilities across North Dakota. Compliance measures are estimated to cost $177 million.

The complaint filed by EPA and DOJ alleges that the company:

• Released thousands of tons of illegal pollution, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide.
• Released greenhouse gases, including methane, in large quantities.
• Failed to obtain required permits under the PSD and Title V programs.
• Failed to comply with storage tank design, operation, and maintenance requirements.

A hazardous waste landfill settled alleged RCRA and TSCA violations in Beatty, Nevada with a six-figure agreement.

The company will pay a civil penalty of $185,429 to settle claims of violations of two federal environmental laws: the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

EPA alleges the company violated its RCRA permit by improperly disposing of hazardous debris at the facility and violated TSCA requirements related to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Specifically, the company failed to:

• Wrap hazardous debris in materials that were not resistant to degradation, thus risking releases in the landfill.
• Maintain its PCB storage building to prevent precipitation from coming into contact with the containers of PCB wastes stored inside, by using its PCB tanker truck loading pad to consolidate RCRA hazardous waste, and by improperly solidifying low-level PCBs (< 50 parts per million).
• Label a PCB storage area properly, comply with the one-year disposal and Exception Report requirements, and date PCB containers with removal from service dates.

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 July 25–26 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.

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