EPA Enforcement Roundup: Week of 11/18

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 medical technology company faces $250,000 in civil penalties due to alleged RCRA violations at its Irvine, CA facility.

US EPA investigated the facility and claims it found that the company violated air emission standards under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). According to the Agency, the company lacked a proper leak detection and secondary containment system, and failed to follow rules for hazardous waste storage tanks.

Three chemical facilities in Louisiana face nearly $1.5M in combined penalties for alleged Clean Air Act violations.

The three facilities—located in LaPlace, Hahnville, and Lake Charles—agreed to pay penalties of $480,000, $168,000, and $825,000, respectively. The settlements include the companies take specific actions to enhance compliance, including but not limited to:

• Third-party audits.
• Enhancing monitoring.
• Site-specific corrective actions.
• Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
• Installing additional equipment.
• Developing and conducting tests.

An Arkansas-based organic waste management company settled with US EPA to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations.

According to US EPA, the company land-applied biosolids to farm fields at levels that exceed the nitrogen needs of the crops in those fields and repeatedly failed to obtain the information necessary to determine the correct amount of biosolids to apply. This kind of action could lead to the pollution of nearby groundwater or surface waters, and the company will pay a $610,000 penalty as part of the settlement.

Biosolids producers and land appliers are required by the Clean Water Act to collect pollution data on biosolids before applying it to land, and land appliers are required to apply biosolids at a rate that limits the amount of nitrogen to what the crop or vegetation can utilize.

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.

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