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EPA Press Advisory: (1) Lead In Drinking Water Information Available On-Line; (2) EPA Announces $1.5 Million for Diesel Retrofits that Benefit Sensitive Populations; (3) EPA Updates Engine Emissions Certification Fees; (4) 1,000 Plants Nationwide Show Progress in Controlling Human Exposure and Groundwater Contamination; (5) Phosphorous Manufacturer Sentenced in $18 million Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Case; (6) Connecticut Company Fined $10 Million for Clean Water Act Violations; (7) Colorado Man Sentenced for Illegally Discharging De-Icing Chemical Into City Sewers; (8) Company and Owners Charged with Clean Water Act ViolationsFollowing are some Agency developments which may interest you. If you need Information is now available about the 90th percentile levels for lead in drinking water for 85 percent of the nation’s 838 water systems serving more than 50,000 people. The data received to date show that 22 systems exceeded the 15 parts per billion (ppb) action level for lead in one or more monitoring periods since 2000. Only eight systems exceeded the action level in 2003. If tap monitoring samples from more than 10 percent of the homes served by a system exceed the15 ppb action level as determined by the concentration at the 90th percentile, the utility must undertake a number of actions. These actions include addressing the corrosion control treatment process, increase monitoring, carrying out public education efforts and potentially, replacing lead service lines. A national review is underway of the implementation and compliance with the national primary drinking water regulation for lead in response to the elevated drinking water lead levels in Washington, D.C. As part of its review, the EPA is working to determine whether the problems Washington, D.C. is experiencing reflect a nationwide problem. States are required to submit information to EPA related to 90th percentile levels after water utilities conduct required monitoring for lead in drinking water. There are approximately 53,000 community water systems in the United States. EPA is continuing to work to collect lead 90th percentile information for systems in other size categories and will report on its findings throughout the summer. A summary of the findings for large systems and related data is available at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lcrmr/implement.html . General information about lead in drinking water and the Washington, D.C. problem can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead . (2) EPA Announces $1.5 Million for Diesel Retrofits that Benefit Sensitive Populations John Millett 202-564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality has announced the availability of up to $1.5 million in funds to provide financial assistance to state, local, multi-state, and tribal agencies and non-profit organizations involved with transportation air quality issues. Funds are available for partnership projects that demonstrate the innovative use of EPA verified pollution control equipment in reducing emissions from diesel fleets affecting sensitive populations – such as children, the elderly and the chronically ill – who are more susceptible to the effects of diesel exhaust. Successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of these technologies can foster greater adoption of similar retrofit strategies as a means to improve air quality. For further details, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/rfp.htm . The deadline for receipt of final applications is July 2. (3) EPA Updates Engine Emissions Certification Fees John Millett 202-564-7842 / millett.john@epa.gov EPA is updating the existing regulations for Motor Vehicle and Engine Compliance Program fees. These regulations, first put into place in 1992, require manufacturers to pay fees for the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) certification and compliance activities related to air pollution control in motor vehicles and engines. This rulemaking updates the existing fee structure for on-highway cars and trucks to reflect increased costs of implementing EPA's emissions standards. In addition, it creates a new fee structure for nonroad engine and equipment compliance programs established since 1992. The manufacturers are responsible for paying this fee before they apply to EPA to certify their vehicles and engines. The new fees program is estimated to generate $18 million annually which will recover the government’s costs and make EPA's mobile source compliance programs self-sustaining to the fullest extent possible. For further details, visit: http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fees.htm . (4) 1,000 Plants Nationwide Show Progress in Controlling Human Exposure and Groundwater Contamination Dave Ryan, 202-564-7827 / ryan.dave@epa.gov A Dow Chemical La Porte, Texas plant on May 4 became the 1000th facility to achieve EPA’s environmental progress indicators for controlling both: (1) human exposure to environmental risks from waste, and (2) migration of contaminated groundwater. The indicators measure realistic, achievable cleanup goals that are protective of human health and the environment based on site-specific conditions at a facility. They complement EPA long-term waste cleanups by setting time-specific benchmarks for preventing releases of contaminants at these sites. To date, 74 percent of 1714 EPA-designated high priority RCRA Corrective Action facilities have met the current goal for human exposure and 63 percent met the current goal for groundwater. EPA has a 2005 goal of controlling human exposure at 95 percent and groundwater at 70 percent of high priority facilities. The Dow La Porte facility is a chemical manufacturing facility producing plastics, synthetic resins and industrial organic chemicals such as phosgene. It has an operating plan in place to ensure that no off-site human exposures are occurring and on-site exposures are adequately addressed through on-site worker health and safety programs. Dow also has plumes of ground water with contaminants such as chlorobenzene and aniline, but recovery efforts since 1989 have diminished both their size and concentration. The environmental indicators initiative takes place under the auspices of EPA’s Corrective Action program, which holds owners and operators of treatment,storage and disposal facilities responsible for investigating and cleaning up soil, ground water, surface water and air releases from their waste sites, regardless of when the releases occurred. Corrective Action, in turn, is authorized by the Congressional Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which gives EPA authority to control the generation, transportation, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA can be an effective tool in preventing future Superfund sites. More information about EPA’s Environmental Indicators initiative is available at: http://www.epa.gov/correctiveaction/eis.htm. Weekly Enforcement Wrap Up Suzanne Ackerman 202-564-7819 / ackerman.suzanne@epa.gov (5) Phosphorous Manufacturer Fined $18 million in a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Case Rhodia, Inc., of Cranbury, N.J., former operating company of an elemental phosphorus manufacturing plant in Silver Bow, Mont., was sentenced on April 29 for its conviction on two felony counts of violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Rhodia will pay a $16.2 million fine and an additional $1.8 million in restitution to the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. The company must also serve five years probation, which could be extended if site clean-up is not completed. Rhodia manufactured elemental phosphorus at the Silver Bow plant from 1986 until its closure in 1996. In its previous guilty plea, Rhodia admitted that from Jan. 1999 until Aug. 2000, it illegally stored carbon brick and precipitator dust contaminated with elemental phosphorus waste at the closed plant. Rhodia also admitted that following plant closure, it illegally stored elemental phosphorus sludge at the site in a large concrete tank. Waste elemental phosphorus is highly reactive, can ignite when exposed to air and presents a significant risk to human health and the environment. The case was investigated by the Denver Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center, and with legal and technical assistance provided by EPA Region 8's offices in Denver and Helena, Mont. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Missoula. (6) Connecticut Company Fined $10 Million for Clean Water Act Violations On Apr. 29, Tyco Printed Circuit Group (TCPG) of Stafford, Conn., a subsidiary of Tyco International, pled guilty to 12 counts of violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) for discharge of hazardous pollutants into sewage treatment systems. The plea agreement calls for TPCG to pay a $6 million federal fine, provide $2.7 million to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) natural resources fund, pay $500,000 each to the Towns of Stafford and Manchester to fund sewer and water treatment system improvements, and pay $300,000 to recycle deionized and other wastewater at TCPGs Stafford and Staffordville facilities. Between 1999 and June 2001, TCPG managers at the company’s Stafford, Staffordville and Manchester facilities engaged in practices that caused the facilities to discharge wastewater with higher than permitted levels of pollutants into municipal sewage treatment systems. The illegal practices included discarding composite samples with excessive levels of toxic metals, omitting samples with pH levels that indicated non-compliance with permits and improperly diluting samples. Three former TCPG managers, Anthony Dadalt, Robert Smith and Daniel Callahan, await sentencing on separate charges in connection with this case. The case was investigated by the Boston Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and the Connecticut DEP with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Hartford. (7) Colorado Man Sentenced for Illegally Discharging De-Icing Chemical Into City Sewers David E. Ortiz of Grand Junction, Colo. was sentenced on Apr. 28 to serve one year in prison and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine. Ortiz was previously convicted of violating the Clean Water Act by illegally discharging a de-icing chemical into the city of Grand Junction, Colo.’s storm sewers. Ortiz was the operator for Chemical Specialties, a company that distills the aircraft de-icing chemical, propylene glycol. On May 29 and June 18, 2002, Ortiz discharged industrial waste water containing propylene glycol into the storm sewer, which empties into the Colorado River, resulting in fish being killed in the river. The case was investigated by the Denver Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division with the assistance of EPA’s National Enforcement Investigations Center and EPA Region 8. It was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver. (8) Company and Owners Charged with Clean Water Act Violations Olymco, Inc., a Delaware chrome plating corporation doing business in the Canton, Ohio area, and its owners, Alex Sklavenitis and Nick Koumoutzis, were each charged on April 28 with allegedly violating the Clean Water Act by knowingly discharging industrial wastewater containing chromium into the Canton public sewer system. Discharging chromium into sewer systems can interfere with the proper treatment of sewage, causing surface waters downstream from treatment plant outflows to be unhealthful for fish and wildlife. The contaminated waters can also become unuseable for drinking water and recreational purposes. The case was investigated by the Cleveland Area Office of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and the City of Canton Wastewater Treatment Department. It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Cleveland. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in a court of law. R085 ### Release date:05/05/2004 Receive our News Releases Automatically by Email
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