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1. ‘TEXAS TIN’ SUPERFUND SITE READY FOR PRODUCTIVE REUSE; 2. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF WIDELY-USED INSECTICIDE CARBARYL COMPLETED; 3. NEW ASSESSMENT FACTORS ENHANCE EPA SCIENCE; 4. EPA INCREASES CIVIL PENALTIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS; 5. TYSON FOODS TO PAY $7.5 MILLION FOR FEDERAL AND STATE CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONSPress Advisory
more information on any of these subjects, call the appropriate contact. FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2003 ‘TEXAS TIN’ SUPERFUND SITE READY FOR PRODUCTIVE REUSE Dave Ryan 202-564-7827 / ryan.dave@epa.gov On July 1, EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality declared as successful the cleanup by BP Amoco Chemical Co., of its Tex Tin Corp.’s operational unit in Texas City. Returning land to productive reuse is a vital part of EPA’s strategy to address hazardous waste sites across the country. This announcement is the first Superfund “Ready for Reuse” designation for a former tin and copper smelter site in the nation. Under the Superfund hazardous waste site program, the “Ready for Reuse” determination allows a potential buyer to make informed decisions based on environmental status information verified by EPA and the relevant state environmental regulatory agency. EPA hopes the “Ready for Reuse” technical determination will reduce the stigma often attached to hazardous waste properties and help developers get more attractive rates in the lending and insurance markets. An emergency tin supply plant built during World War II, Tex Tin was later modified by a succession of companies until it closed in 1991 as a copper smelter. Over the years, industrial waste releases contaminated the property, and in September 1998, EPA designated the company a Superfund hazardous waste cleanup site. More information about EPA’s Ready for Reuse program is available at: http://www.epa.gov/swerosps/rcrabf/r4rmain.htm . For information about the Tex Tin site, go to: http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/pdffiles/tex-tin.pdf . COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF WIDELY-USED INSECTICIDE CARBARYL COMPLETED David Deegan 202-564-7839 / deegan.dave@epa.gov On June 30, EPA completed a thorough assessment of the pesticide carbaryl, one of the most widely-used insecticides in agriculture. Stemming from the Agency’s evaluation, EPA is requiring new measures to ensure protection for homeowners, agricultural workers and the environment. EPA’s actions will reduce potential exposures of residential users and children to this pesticide by eliminating most pet care and aerosol products, as well as liquid lawn care applications. Exposures to people who apply carbaryl in agriculture and those who enter treated areas will be reduced in the following ways: cancelling some uses and application methods; reducing maximum application rates; eliminating aerial application for certain crops; requiring more personal protective equipment and engineering controls; and extending restricted entry intervals for many crops. Carbaryl can pose risks to honey bees, aquatic invertebrates and other aquatic animals. No concerns were identified related to dietary exposure to residues of carbaryl. EPA will also conduct a cumulative risk assessment for carbamate pesticides, and when this is completed, the Agency will evaluate whether further risk mitigation may be needed for carbaryl. A Federal Register notice announcing the beginning of a public comment period on the decisions contained in this action will be published shortly. The “Interim Re-registration Eligibility Decision” for carbaryl, and related documents including EPA risk assessments and a summary of this decision, will be available at: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ . NEW ASSESSMENT FACTORS ENHANCE EPA SCIENCE Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov Because of the importance of using quality science as a basis for sound policy decisions, EPA released the “Summary of General Assessment Factors for Evaluating the Quality of Scientific and Technical Information.” The Agency applies the same information quality considerations for all sources, whether data are generated by EPA, voluntarily submitted by contracts, grants and agreements with outside parties or collected from external sources such as academia, business, and public interest groups. These new assessment factors for scientific and technical information were developed as a complement to the Information Quality Guidelines issued in 2002 (“Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality, Utility and Integrity of Information Disseminated by the EPA). The assessment factors document is available at: http://www.epa.gov/osp/spc/2polprog.htm . EPA INCREASES CIVIL PENALTIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS John Millett 202-564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov Under proposed regulations, EPA will be able to assess increased maximum civil penalties against polluters caught violating the nation’s environmental laws. The increase is almost 15 percent. EPA’s Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation Adjustment Rule will raise the statutory maximum civil penalty to reflect inflation, as determined by the Consumer Price Index. The rule is required by the Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996 and reflects the U.S. Government Accounting Office’s recommendations. To keep pace with inflation, the Debt Collection Improvement Act requires federal agencies to periodically review and adjust statutory maximum civil penalties. Once final, the proposal will raise the maximum civil penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and other environmental statutes from $27,500 to $32,500. The proposal was published in the Federal Register today, July 3, for a 30-day comment period. For more information in the Federal Register, go tohttp://www.archives.gov/federal_register/the_federal_register/indexes.html . ENFORCEMENT WRAP-UP John Millett 202-564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov TYSON FOODS TO PAY $7.5 MILLION FOR FEDERAL AND STATE CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONS On June 25, in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., Tyson Foods Inc., pled guilty to 20 felony violations of the federal Clean Water Act and agreed to pay $7.5 million to the United States and the State of Missouri. The plea agreement will settle all federal and state charges against the company for illegal discharges at its Sedalia, Mo., processing plant. In addition, Tyson Foods will hire an outside environmental consultant to audit the Sedalia plant’s environmental management program and will implement an improved environmental program based on the audit’s findings. Each day, the Sedalia plant processes approximately 1 million pounds of chicken and generates hundreds of thousands of gallons of wastewater. Between 1996 and 2001, the plant repeatedly discharged untreated or inadequately treated wastewater from the Sedalia plant in violation of the limits in its discharge permit. Repeated citations and lawsuits by the State of Missouri did not bring the plant into compliance. Discharging wastewater containing higher than permitted levels of processing wastes can harm fish and wildlife and make surface waters unuseable for recreational and drinking water purposes. The case was investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office and the FBI with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kansas City, Mo., and the Environmental Crimes Section of the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. R178 # # # Release date:07/03/2003 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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