EPA announces summary of Pacific Northwest and Alaska enforcement actions for Fall 2011

(Seattle – February 2, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed 26 enforcement actions from October through December 2011 to ensure individuals, businesses and governments are complying with environmental regulations. The EPA’s compliance assistance programs help people understand and follow federal environmental laws. Enforcement deters those who might otherwise profit from violating the law and levels the playing field with environmentally compliant companies. Protecting human health and the environment is the ultimate objective.

Below is a summary table of EPA’s enforcement actions during the first quarter of federal fiscal year 2012 (October – December 2011). An important component of EPA’s enforcement activities, and a key way to deter misconduct, is to assess penalties for violations. For the cases where EPA assessed penalties, the penalty amount is listed in the table. EPA Region 10 assessed a total of $540,480 in penalties during the first quarter. Penalty amounts may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the magnitude of the violation, how quickly the violations are corrected, and whether there are past violations. Compliance Orders direct the violator to bring their activities back into compliance with environmental laws, and may not include penalties.

October 1 – December 31, 2011

State	City of violation	Date issued/ filed	Respondent	Description of Alleged Violation	Penalty amount
AK	Anchorage	11/04/11	Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$6,000
ID	Idaho Falls	12/13/11	City of Idaho Falls	Exceeding discharge permit limits at the City’s wastewater treatment plant, including ammonia and E. coli limits. (CWA)*	N/A (compliance order)
ID	Pocatello	10/13/11	Harris, Inc.	Deficiencies in stormwater plans and controls during construction of a new building. (CWA)*	$7,000
ID	Pocatello	11/22/11	Frazier Industrial Company	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for 1, 2, 4-trimethylbenzene. (EPCRA)*	$4,100
OR	Albany	12/19/11	U.S. Department of Energy - National Energy Technology Laboratory	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$1,500
OR	Astoria	10/13/11	Da Yang Seafood, Inc.	Failure to maintain complete service and maintenance records for large refrigerated appliances that contain ozone-depleting substances. (CAA)*	$26,800
OR	Central Point	10/20/11	Grange Cooperative Supply Association	Sale and distribution of a misbranded pesticide product. (FIFRA)*	$57,040
OR	Eugene	11/22/11	Johnson Crushers International	Excess xylene air emissions. (CAA)*	$115,000 to the U.S. (additional penalty paid to local agency)
OR	Portland	11/03/11	McClure Industries, Inc.	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for styrene. (EPCRA)*	$3,800
OR	Warm Springs	11/18/11	Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation – Simnasho Schoolie water system	Arsenic levels above drinking water limits. (SDWA)*	N/A (compliance order)
WA	Auburn	11/03/11	Formula Corp.	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for glycol ethers. (EPCRA)*	$3,800
WA	Kent	11/23/11	Burlington Environmental LLC	Illegal storage and treatment of hazardous waste. (RCRA)*	$275,000
WA	Seattle	11/18/11	Avista Recycling, Inc.	Attempted illegal export of cathode ray tubes.(RCRA)*	$31,600
WA	Seattle	10/13/11	Northern Lights, Inc.	Import of marine engines without information required by the Clean Air Act.	$2,500
WA	Winlock	11/30/11	Philip and Kimberly Smith	Unauthorized discharge of dredged and fill materials into wetlands. (CWA)*	Contingent penalty of $200,000 if respondent violates Consent Decree terms.
AK ID OR WA	Kodiak and Fairbanks Gooding Canyonville Moses Lake, Royal City, Brewster, Ephrata	October- December 2011	Underground Storage Tank Facilities	Failure to conduct tests to detect or prevent releases to the environment. (RCRA)*	$6,340 for violations at 11 facilities.

   

* EPCRA – Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

CWA – Clean Water Act

CAA – Clean Air Act

RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SDWA – Safe Drinking Water Act

TRI – Toxic Release Inventory