Public Notice: Paramount Builders Inc., Pago Pago, AS; Proposed Settlement of CWA Section 309(g) Class II Administrative Penalty
Summary
EPA is providing notice of a proposed administrative penalty settlement with Paramount Builders Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of American Samoa and based in Pago Pago, American Samoa (Respondent) for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA). EPA alleges that Respondent violated CWA Section 301(a), 33 U.S.C. § 1311(a), by discharging fill material into waters of the United States in American Samoa without obtaining authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under CWA Section 404, 33 U.S.C. § 1344.
Specifically, EPA alleges that from May 2022 and continuing at least through September 21, 2022, Respondent, as the construction contractor for the American Samoa Government, Department of Public Works (ASDPW), began construction on the Tula Shoreline Revetment Project along a coastal reach of Route 008 in Tula Village. In addition, from November 2022 to May 2023, Respondent constructed the Amaile Stream Flood Control Project in Amalie Stream, near Matafao Peak near its confluence with the Pacific Ocean. As part of these projects, Respondent used mechanized land-clearing and earthmoving equipment to discharge rock, soil, and concrete tri-bar below the high tide line along 2,600 and 300 feet of coastal shoreline, respectively.
Pursuant to Section 309(g) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g), and in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Part 22 (rules of practice for assessing administrative civil penalties), EPA proposes entering into a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CA/FO) with Respondent to simultaneously commence and conclude this CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding. Under the proposed CA/FO, Respondent will pay the United States a civil penalty of $50,000 to resolve this matter.
In the Matter of Paramount Builders Inc., Pago Pago, American Samoa, EPA Docket Number CWA-09-2024-0079
Complainant: Amy Miller-Bowen, Director, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Respondent: Paramount Builders Inc., Pago Pago, American Samoa
Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Paramount Builders Inc. is a general contractor primarily engaged in construction (including new work, additions, alterations, remodeling, and repair) of residential buildings other than single-family houses.
Summary of Alleged Violations: Respondent discharged fill material into waters of the United States without obtaining authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under CWA Section 404, 33 U.S.C. § 1344.
Proposed Penalty: $50,000.
Applicants or Respondents
Paramount Builders Inc.Pago Pago, AS
United States