Hefty fine for plan failures
Oil company
Maine
EPA Region 1
CWA/SPCC violations: The EPA alleges that the company’s failure to maintain and fully implement an oil spill prevention plan contributed to the release of approximately 1,500 gallons of used motor oil from a tanker truck at the facility.
Penalty: $177,500 fine
Fracking reporting failures
Oil and gas company
Pennsylvania
EPA Region 3
EPCRA violations: The company allegedly failed to file required chemical information for one or more of the past 3 years at 52 hydraulic fracturing facilities throughout Pennsylvania.
Penalty: $62,457 fine
Air and water problems at coke plant
Coke manufacturing plant
Pennsylvania
EPA Region 3
CAA and CWA violations: The EPA alleges that the plant has had continued CAA violations concerning emissions of sulfur and visible emissions of particulate matter and numerous CWA violations including exceeding the pollutant limits of the facility’s permit for discharging wastewater for several years; failing to properly operate and maintain the facility’s wastewater treatment plant; and unpermitted discharges of polluted runoff from the coal pile directly to the Ohio River.
Penalty: $1.75 million fine
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Hospital sloppy about air emissions
Healthcare services organization
Minnesota
EPA Region 5
CAA violations: The EPA alleges that the company failed to keep required records and submit required reports on emissions from ethylene oxide sterilizers at a hospital.
Penalty: $18,750 fine and $56,250 in SEP costs related to a lead-based paint project.
Jail for dirty asbestos demolition
Contractor
Illinois
EPA Region 5
Asbestos violations: The owner and operator of this fire-proofing business was convicted for the illegal removal, handling, and disposal of asbestos from a building in Kankakee.
Penalty: $47,086 in restitution and $15,000 fine; 10 years in prison
Failure to report chemical data
Chemical manufacturer
Texas
EPA Region 6
TSCA violations: According to the EPA, the company violated the 2006 Inventory Update Rule (IUR) rule regulations for 13 chemical substances. IUR, now known as the Chemical Data Reporting Rule, requires companies to submit accurate data about the production and use of chemical substances manufactured or imported during a calendar year.
Penalty: $202,779 fine
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Plating waste not handled properly
Chrome, nickel, and zinc plating operations
Iowa
EPA Region 7
RCRA violations: The EPA alleges numerous hazardous waste violations including storage of hazardous waste for longer than 90 days without a RCRA permit, hazardous waste container management violations, emergency equipment violations, training violations, RCRA contingency plan violations, universal waste management violations, operation of a hazardous waste facility without a RCRA permit, and failing to comply with hazardous waste generator requirements, including failure to label waste containers, failure to date waste containers, and failure to keep waste containers closed.
Penalty: $19,171 fine and $110,000 in facility upgrades
Lack of risk management plan
Ethanol plant
Colorado
PA Region 8
CAA violations: According to the EPA, the company failed to maintain a risk management plan for 97,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. The storage threshold that triggers the requirement for a risk management plan for anhydrous ammonia is 10,000 pounds.
Penalty: $5,850