Penalties are as high as six figures in our early April enviro enforcement roundup. Violations run the gamut from failure to submit forms to waste issues to pesticide problems; companies cited include DuPont, Terminix, and Dole.
Failure to Submit Forms
E.I. Dupont de Nemours and Co. (DuPont)
Alabama Region 4
EPCRA violations: The EPA alleged that DuPont, an agriculture product manufacturer, was in violation of Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) Hazardous Chemical Inventory Reporting Requirements. The company failed to submit a Form R for phosgene to the EPA and to Alabama by July 1 for the 2014 reporting year. In addition, the company failed to submit a completed emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form for sodium bisulfate to the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC), the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), and the local fire department for calendar years 2015, 2014, and 2013 by March 1 of the following year.
Penalty: $3,853 fine.
Risk Management Violations
BASF Corp.
Tennessee Region 4
CAA, RMP violations: The EPA alleged that BASF Corp., a chemical company, was in violation of the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program (RMP) regulations. When the EPA conducted an inspection of the facility, BASF failed to provide documentation that its equipment complied with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices and its frequency of inspections and failed to prove that tests of process equipment were consistent with applicable manufacturers’ recommendations and good engineering practices.
Penalty: $1,440 fine.
Failure to Report Releases
Austin Powder Co.
Ohio Region 5
CERCLA violations: Austin Powder, an explosives manufacturer, was found in violation of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) regulations. According to the EPA, on February 27, 2017, the company released approximately 1,817 pounds of nitric acid, which discharged into the surface water, groundwater, land surface, and subsurface strata. The company also released 1,335 pounds of sulfuric acid, which released into the subsurface strata. Austin Powder failed to immediately notify the National Response Center (NRC) of the releases.
Penalty: $12,640 fine.
Lead Contamination Issues
Tulip Molded Plastics Corp. (Tulip)
Wisconsin Region 5
RCRA violations: The EPA alleged that Tulip, a plastics and rubber products manufacturer, was in violation of RCRA regulations. The company failed to conduct waste determinations for lead-contaminated personal protective equipment, filters, mop water, and tetrachloroethylene-contaminated filters. In addition, Tulip failed to maintain records of its waste determinations for oil-contaminated water and paper filter waste.
Penalty: $37,500 fine.
Waste Violations
Anchor Fabrication Corp.
Texas Region 6
RCRA violations: The EPA found that Anchor Fabrication, a custom metal fabrication partner, was in violation of Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste generator requirements. The company failed to notify the EPA of its generator status, failed to operate within generator requirements, and failed to comply with manifest requirements.
Penalty: $31,549 fine.
Failure to Close LCCs
Dole Food Co. Inc. (Dole)
Hawaii Region 9
SDWA, UIC violations: According to the EPA, Dole, a food company, was in violation of Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) regulations and underground injection tank requirements. The company had two large-capacity cesspools (LCCs) at its Puuiki Beach Park property on Oahu that it failed to close after 2005 when the federal government banned LCCs.
Penalty: $145,000 fine. The company has closed the two cesspools and replaced them with state-approved septic systems.
Pesticide Problems
Terminix International Co. (Terminix)
Hawaii Region 9
FIFRA violations: Terminix, a commercial pesticide applicator, was found in violation of Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) regulations. The company misused three different restricted-use fumigant pesticides at four separate locations on Kauai and failed to follow required label instructions and safety precautions before and during fumigation operations of its EPA-registered restricted-use pesticides, Vikane, Profume, and Degesch Fumi-Cel. Terminix failed to ensure that only certified workers or workers directly supervised by a certified worker applied a restricted-use pesticide, failed to provide proper worker protection equipment, failed to properly monitor the pesticide’s application or measure the amount of pesticide used, and failed to maintain at least 2 years of routine operational records tracking applications of Degesch Fumi-Cel. The company had similar violations when using Profume at another seed fumigation site and Vikane at residences in Kapaa Shores and Kekaha, both located on Kauai.
Penalty: $168,535 fine.