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Modesto company to pay U.S. EPA $80,000 to resolve reporting violations

Release Date: 1/18/2005
Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248

Indalex failed to accurately report toxic chemicals to annual Toxics Release Inventory

SAN FRANCISCO -- Indalex West, Inc. last week agreed to pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency $80,000 for allegedly failing to accurately report the amount of toxic chemicals released by its Modesto, Calif. facility, in violation of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

The company allegedly failed to report air emissions of toluene and xylene from its facility to the EPA's annual Toxics Release Inventory from 2000 to 2002. The company also failed to report the amounts of glycol ethers released by its facility in 2001 and 2002.

"These reports provide the public with valuable information about the toxic chemicals being released in their communities," said Enrique Manzanilla, the EPA's Cross Media Division director for the Pacific Southwest. "This case should remind others that the EPA is maintaining a close watch over chemical reporting practices and is serious about enforcing community right-to-know laws."

Federal law requires that facilities using toxic chemicals over specified amounts file annual reports of their chemical releases with the EPA and the state. Information from these reports is then compiled into a national database and made available to the public.

The EPA became aware of the violations during TRI investigations looking at Central Valley facilities. The company has since submitted the required reports.

Each year the EPA publishes a report entitled the Toxics Release Inventory Public Data Release Report, which summarizes the prior years submissions and provides a trend analysis of toxic chemical releases.

For more information on the program visit: https://www.epa.gov/tri. The U.S. EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can be accessed at: https://www.epa.gov/enviro.