All News Releases By Date

EPA Announces Summary of Enforcement Actions for Spring 2012

Release Date: 08/13/2012
Contact Information: Kim Ogle, EPA Compliance and Enforcement, 206-553-0995, [email protected], Cyndi Grafe, EPA Public Affairs, 208-378-5771, [email protected]

(Seattle – August 10, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed 38 enforcement actions from April 1 through June 30, 2012 to ensure individuals, businesses, and governments comply with the nation’s laws that protect public health and the environment.

Before taking enforcement actions, the EPA offers compliance assistance to help regulated industries and individuals understand and comply with federal environmental laws. When these laws are broken, it puts people’s health and the environment at risk. Those who don’t comply with the laws also gain an unfair business advantage over those who have invested in pollution controls and comply with the law.

Below is a summary table of EPA’s enforcement actions from April - June 2012. In some cases penalties are issued to help ensure a level playing field for and to deter future violations. Penalty amounts may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the number and magnitude of violations, how quickly the violations are corrected, whether there is a history of violations, and the ability of the respondent to pay. Compliance Orders direct the violator to bring their activities back into compliance with environmental laws, and do not include penalties.

April 1 - June 30, 2012

State	City of violation	Date issued/ filed	Respondent	Description of Alleged Violation	Penalty amount
AK	Cordova	04/05/12	Shoreside Petroleum, Inc.	Failure to sample discharges according to Clean Water Act (CWA)* permit for tank farms.	$70,000
AK	Haines	04/20/12	Robert and Nancy Loomis	Clean Water Act (CWA)* violations for unauthorized filling into wetlands and construction stormwater discharges without a permit.	$22,500
AK	N/A	05/11/12	Ocean Peace, Inc.	Violating Clean Water Act (CWA)* discharge permit on fishing vessel “Ocean Peace.”	$98,000
AK	Unalaska	06/08/12	Alyeska Seafoods, Inc.	Violations of Risk Management Program (RMP)* requirements at seafood processing plant.	$43,373
AK	Offshore	06/21/12	Akulurak, LLC	Fishing Vessel M/V Courageous failed to report and monitor discharges according to the (CWA)* Offshore Seafood Processors General Permit.	$1,500
ID	Buhl	03/25/12	Fish Breeders of Idaho, Inc.	Catfish aquaculture facility exceeded its phosphorus discharge limits and submitted reports late under a (CWA)* permit.	$15,000
ID	Idaho County	04/05/12	City Service Valcon	Tanker truck spilled 950 gallons of fuel, in violation of (CWA)* oil and hazardous substances liability requirements.	$3,000
ID	Caldwell	04/27/12	Rhodes International	Failure to properly report the storage of ammonia at Caldwell, ID facility. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)	$84,484
ID	Cottonwood	05/18/12	Idaho Department of Corrections	Exceeding (CWA)* permit requirements for ammonia, E. coli, biological oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and pH; at the North Idaho Correctional Institution	$51,000
ID	Rupert	05/21/12	Brewster West LLC	Violations of Risk Management Program (RMP)* requirements for anhydrous ammonia (CAA)* at cheese factory.	$4,260
ID	Ahsahka	05/25/12	Ahsahka Water and Sewer District	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of E. coli, total suspended solids, total residual chlorine, and pH.	$694
ID	Culdesac	05/25/12	City of Culdesac	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of E. coli, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total residual chlorine, and pH.	$1,000
ID	Caldwell	06/13/12	City of Caldwell	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of total suspended solids and total ammonia.	$11,000
ID	Wilder	06/13/12	City of Wilder	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of E. coli, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and total residual chlorine.	$3,100
OR	Pendleton	04/16/12	Joe McDonald	Agricultural burning on the Umatilla Indian Reserbation during a “no-burn day” in violation of the Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR)*.	$1,300
OR	Portland	04/16/12	BNSF Railway Co.	Removing contaminated soil from under a Superfund cleanup cap without identifying the hazardous waste (RCRA)*	$37,500
OR	Portland	04/16/12	Kanto Corporation	Failure to submit timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI)* Reporting Forms for ammonia, hydrogen fluoride, and nitric acid. (EPCRA)*	$58,200
OR	White City	04/24/12	Thermo Fluids, Inc.	Deficient Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC)* plan and inadequate secondary containment measures.	$1,400
OR	Portland	04/25/12	Columbia Sportswear	Sale and distribution of misbranded pesticide infused clothing products. (FIFRA)*	$22,880 Stop Sale Order
OR	Boardman	04/27/12	Columbia River Processing, Inc.	Released 2,400 pounds of anhydrous ammonia at a cheese producing facility and failed to notify federal, state and local authorities in violation of (EPCRA)* and (CERCLA)*.	$42,435
OR	Portland	05/25/12	American Property Management	Failed to notify tenants of possible presence of lead in residences before signing lease housing contracts. (TSCA)*	$10,000
OR	Nehalem	05/30/12	Dila Dairy, Inc.	Discharged pollutants from Confined Animal Feeding Operation in violation of (CWA)* permit.	$10,000
OR	Klamath Falls	06/29/12	Curtis O. Baney Marital Trust	Failed to notify tenants of possible presence of lead in residences before signing lease housing contracts. (TSCA)*	$24,600
OR	Vale	06/29/12	Farmers Supply Cooperative, Inc.	Produced pesticides in an unregistered facility. (FIFRA)*	$2,080
WA	Wapato	04/26/12	Pace International LLC	Sale and distribution of misbranded pesticide products. (FIFRA)*	$6,000 Stop Sale Order
WA	Bellingham	05/11/12	Robert Kerr	Failed to notify tenants of possible presence of lead in residences before signing lease housing contracts. (TSCA)*	$21,800
WA	Seattle	05/15/12	Machinists (DSR), Inc.	Failure to submit timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI)* Reporting Forms for xylene. (EPCRA)*	$8,500
WA	Whatcom County	05/15/12	Nielsen Brothers, Inc.	Truck spilled 120 gallons of diesel, in violation of (CWA)* oil and hazardous substances liability requirements.	$11,000
WA	Toppenish	06/19/12	Green Acre Farms, Inc.	EPA’s Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR)* resulting from burning prohibited materials and open burning during burn bans.	$3,500

*List of acronyms:

• CAA – Clean Air Act
• CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability
• CWA – Clean Water Act
• EPCRA – Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act
• FARR – Federal Air Rules for Reservations
• FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
• RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
• RMP – Risk Management Program
• SDWA – Safe Drinking Water Act
• TRI – Toxic Release Inventory
• UST – Underground Storage Tank
• TSCA - Toxic Substances Control Act