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EPA Press Advisory: (1) EPA Awards Grants to Reduce Pollution from Trucks at Truck Stops; (2) Applications Due for Smart Growth Achievement Awards; (3) New York Transportation Company Faces $10 Million Fine for Buzzards Bay Oil Spill; (4) Former New York Asbestos Contracting Firm and Owners Convicted of Organized Crime and Other Charges; (5) Pennsylvania Company Charged in Multi-State Water Pollution Case; (6) Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Dumping Oily Water into SewerFollowing are some Agency developments which may interest you. If you need News for release: (Washington, D.C. -- April 7, 2004) (1) EPA Awards Grants to Reduce Pollution from Trucks at Truck Stops John Millett 202-564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov EPA, under the SmartWay Transport Partnership, is awarding grants to states and non-profit organizations across the country. These grants target emission reductions from trucks while they idle for long periods at truck stops and other truck waiting areas. EPA will focus on issuing grants along major transportation interstate corridors. Approximately $800,000 will be awarded, with grants ranging in size from $100,000 to $200,000. The grant recipients will deploy stationary idle reduction technology at strategic locations along the National Highway System. Annually, long duration truck idling consumes one billion gallons of diesel fuel, and contributes over 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, 180,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 5,000 tons of particulate matter. Much of this fuel consumption and the associated emissions can be reduced with the use of idle reduction technologies. Today’s grant focuses on the deployment of a stationary idle reduction technology commonly known as “truck stop electrification.” For information on applying for this grant visit the following web site: http://www.epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html (2) Applications Due for Smart Growth Achievement Awards Judy Pino 202-564-7338 / pino.judy@epa.gov Applications are now being accepted for the Environmental Protection Agency’s third annual National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. Smart growth development approaches have clear environmental benefits including improved air and water quality, greater preservation of critical habitat and open space, and more clean up and re-use of Brownfield sites. This competition is open to state or local governments, public sector entities and interested parties in urban, suburban and rural areas. Applications will be accepted in four categories: Built Projects, Policies and Regulations, Community Outreach and Education, Small Communities and Overall Excellence in Smart Growth. Successful applicants will incorporate smart growth principles to create places that respect community culture and the environment, foster economic development and promote a better quality of life for current and future generations. Applications are due on June 4. Five winners will be recognized at a ceremony in Washington, DC on November 2004. For application information about the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement visit: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/awards.htm . Weekly Enforcement Wrap Up Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov (3) New York Transportation Company Faces $10 Million Fine for Buzzards Bay Oil Spill On March 29, Bouchard Transportation Company of Hicksville, N.Y. pled guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act as a result of an oil spill in Buzzards Bay, Mass. The company admitted that improper operation of the tugboat, Evening Tide, led to a major spill in Buzzards Bay of Number 6 fuel oil, a heavy oil used by ocean liners and tankers as fuel. The spill killed 450 protected birds, necessitated the closure of thousands of acres of the bay’s shellfish beds and polluted nearly 90 miles of Mass. shoreline. On Apr. 27, 2003, the tug’s Mate piloted the vessel as it entered the bay’s channel. The mate left his post and the oil barge being towed by the tug drifted onto rocks outside the channel, damaging the barge and causing oil to spill into the bay. Removal of Number 6 oil from coastal areas is necessary because it degrades slowly, often lasting for years. The oil also harms wildlife by coating birds, smothering intertidal organisms and contaminating sediment. Bouchard Transportation has agreed to pay a $10 million fine, with $7 million going to the North American Wetlands Conservation fund. Of the remaining fine, $2 million will be paid to the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund and $1 million will be suspended if Bouchard Transportation successfully completes probation and establishes an environmental compliance program. The case was investigated by the Boston Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement with assistance from the U.S. Secret Service, the Massachusetts Environmental Police and the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston. (4) Former New York Asbestos Contracting Firm and Owners Convictedof Organized Crime and Other Charges AAR Contractor, Inc., a former asbestos abatement firm located in Latham, N.Y. and two former AAR owners, Alexander Salvagno of Loundonville, N.Y., and Raul Salvagno of Ormand Beach, Fla., were convicted on March 29 of a ten-year conspiracy (1990-1999) to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO), the Clean Air Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act. In addition, the jury found that Alexander Salvagno committed multiple acts of obstruction of justice, money laundering, mail fraud and bid rigging under the RICO charge and also convicted him of three counts of tax fraud. AAR was one of the largest asbestos abatement companies in New York State. The Salvagnos used Analytical Laboratories of Albany, Inc. (ALA) to create fraudulent laboratory analyses indicating that buildings remediated by AAR were free of harmful levels of asbestos. In reality, AAR and the Salvagnos had used illegal “rip and run” techniques to remove the asbestos, and released “snow storms” of asbestos in the process. The workers employed by AAR were not provided with proper protective equipment. In addition, dangerous levels of residual asbestos contamination were found by investigators at locations ALA determined were safe. Collusion between AAR and ALA occurred at more than 1,555 New York facilities and involved falsification of up to 75,000 laboratory samples. Improperly removing asbestos and falsely certifying a building to be free of asbestos contamination can lead to workers and other people inhaling asbestos fibers, which can cause lung cancer, the lung disease “asbestosis,” and mesothelioma, cancer of the chest and abdominal cavities. The case was investigated by the New York Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the New York State Office of Inspector General. Investigative assistance was provided by the New York State Department of Labor, the New York State Department of Health and EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Syracuse. (5) Pennsylvania Company Charged in Multi-State Water Pollution Case The PQ Corporation of Valley Forge, Pa. was charged on March 25 and 29 with violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) at its plants in St. Louis, Mo., Chester, Pa. and Baltimore, Md. The charges were filed in three courts: U.S. District Court in St. Louis, U.S. District Court in Philadelphia and the U.S. District Court in Baltimore. PQ’s facilities use high heat to manufacture sodium silicate from soda ash and sand. The defendant allegedly discharged waste water in violation of applicable CWA pretreatment requirements from its St. Louis facility between Jan. 1997 and Nov. 1999 into the metropolitan St. Louis sewer system, and from its Chester facility between Dec. 1998 and Apr. 2000 into a Delaware County sewer system. The defendant also allegedly discharged waste water from its Baltimore, Md. facility between 1995 and 2000 into waters of the United States without a CWA permit. Discharging improperly treated wastewater into sewers can damage sewage treatment equipment and prevent sewage being properly treated. Wastewater discharge into surface waters without a permit can harm fish and wildlife and can make the waters unsafe for recreational or drinking water purposes. If convicted on all charges in all courts, the company faces a maximum possible fine of up to $1.5 million. The case was investigated by the St. Louis, Philadelphia and Washington Area Offices of the U.S. EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, and the Metropolitan Sewer District of St. Louis with the assistance of EPA's National Enforcement Investigations Center. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices in St. Louis, Philadelphia and Baltimore are prosecuting the case. The filing of federal charges is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law. (6) Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Dumping Oily Water into Sewer Dennis A. Henman of Ft. Wayne, Ind. pled guilty on March 26 to violating the Clean Water Act by discharging oily wastewater into the municipal sewers of Dayton, Ohio. Henman was a District Manager for Grease Monkey, Inc. an automobile oil change franchise. The defendant did not have a permit from the City of Dayton to discharge the oily wastewater into the sewer system. Unpermitted discharge of oily water into city sewers can create a fire hazard and can prevent the proper treatment of sewage. This creates a hazard to fish and wildlife that depend upon surface waters that are downstream of sewage treatment plant outfalls. The case was investigated by the Cleveland Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Wastewater Division of the City of Dayton and the Montgomery County Sanitary Engineering Department. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Dayton. R062 ### Release date:04/07/2004 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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