EPA Enforcement Roundup: Week of 7/8

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:

Up to eight companies operating 75 facilities in the Permian Basin may face penalties for Clean Air Act violations.

US EPA and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) inspected a combined 124 facilities in the Permian Basin back in April. The Agencies state that 75 of those facilities had emissions of Volatile Emission Compounds (VOC) and could be subject to penalties and other enforcement actions under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

VOCs contribute to the formation of ozone, which can result in health problems such as asthma, lung infections, bronchitis, and cancer.

A power company in Kern County, California, will pay $55,788 in penalties to resolve alleged Safe Drinking Water Act violations.

EPA claims that in June the company violated its Class I Non-Hazardous Waste Injection Well permit and the Safe Drinking Water Act by failing to maintain the mechanical integrity of an injection well, allowing wastewater to rise to the ground surface.

EPA classifies injection wells into one of six types. The company’s permit allows it to inject non-hazardous waste, such as plant and equipment drains wastewater, into the Upper Tulare formation. The company has agreed to pay a penalty of $55,788 to resolve permit violations of the Underground Injection Control Program.

A building products manufacturer settled with US EPA to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations in Oregon.

The company paid a $24,780 penalty for violations an EPA inspector found following a December 2021 inspection. Alleged violations relating to the company’s NPDES permit include failures to:

• Monitor, sample, and visually inspect undisclosed stormwater discharge source.
• Reduce exposure of crumb rubber pile against stormwater.
• Document an undisclosed stormwater discharge source in its Stormwater Pollution Control Plan.

The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging pollutants from industrial sources into a water of the United States without a NPDES permit.

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Tags: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, environmental compliance, EPA Enforcement Roundup, Safe Drinking Water Act