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EPA PROPOSES UP TO $137,000 FINE AGAINST MAINE RAILROAD FOR VIOLATING ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS

Release Date: 10/01/1999
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a $137,500 penalty against the Maine Central Railroad Company in Waterville for violating laws for spill prevention and discharge violations in 1998.

The complaint issued this week stems from an oil spill in February 1998. An investigation was initiated in response to a call from the facility to state authorities and EPA's National Response Center.

The complaint alleges that on Feb. 25, 1998, oil leaked from a locomotive to a catch basin system and then into one of the facility's storm water discharge pipes and into the Kennebec River. The oil was not completely removed from the river until two days later, according to the complaint.

Two on-scene coordinators responded to the scene on Feb. 26, 1998, to investigate and monitor clean-up activities. During that visit, the coordinators also requested a copy of the facility's Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan, which is required under the Clean Water Act. Such plans outline procedures and methods that a facility should use to prevent discharges, including construction of appropriate contaminant structures and training of employees in spill prevention.

No plan was available for review at the time of the inspection. EPA received a copy of a final SPCC plan dated March 24, 1998 on March 25, 1998.

"Maine Central Railroad violated federal law and then saw the consequences when oil leaked from a train into the Kennebec River," said John P. DeVillars, EPA's New England Administrator. "Such a spill might have been prevented if the company were following the law. It is unfortunate it took an accident that caused environmental harm to get the railroad company into compliance."