EPA Halts Chemical Discharge and Protects Water Quality in the South River

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it has stopped harmful chemicals from getting into the South River in Middlesex County, New Jersey and put a local facility on the road to complying with environmental regulations. In July 2025, EPA collaborated with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to respond to a public concern about chemical odors and a white, foaming substance along the South River. EPA inspected the facility, Envirochem, Inc., suspected of producing the discharge and issued an order under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to stop the discharge. 

 

“Risks to America’s waterways call for fast action and EPA is ready to step in,” said EPA Regional Administrator Michael Martucci. “This shows how listening to the public and working with the state and local partners can help identify pollution sources, prevent pollution, and deliver clean water to communities throughout the region.” 

 

Within two weeks of receiving the complaint from the public, EPA inspected Envirochem, Inc. While evaluating the facility, EPA inspectors observed improper drainage systems on site that allowed a foaming liquid to flow from a chemical loading dock directly into the South River. EPA issued the administrative order which requires the facility to stop the discharge of unauthorized pollutants immediately, as well as to develop measures to comply with the requirements of the CWA. As a result, the chemical discharge was stopped and Envirochem, Inc. is currently working on longer-term solutions to properly manage its operations and prevent direct discharges into the river.

 

Through training, technical guidance, and case-by-case problem solving, EPA works with communities to fulfill its core mission of protecting human health and the environment while simultaneously helping businesses thrive.

 

 

A new interim final rule issued by EPA extends certain compliance deadlines for its risk management rule for the solvent trichloroethylene (TCE). The affected compliance dates have to do with the use of TCE as a processing aid in nuclear fuel manufacturing, the disposal of TCE to wastewater by certain processors of industrial chemicals, and downstream notification, which is intended to “spread awareness throughout the supply chain of the restrictions on use of TCE under [the Toxic Substances Control Act],” according to the Federal Register.

 

The interim final rule also amends the text required to be present in safety data sheets for TCE and products that contain TCE.

 

EPA’s risk management rule for TCE was issued in December 2024. The rule was set to prohibit most industrial and commercial uses of TCE by Sept. 15, 2025.

 

In response to a May 2025 petition regarding the processing and disposal of TCE to wastewater, EPA’s new interim final rule extends the prohibition compliance date for the disposal of TCE to wastewater to Dec. 18, 2026. According to the agency, this extension applies to processors of TCE and processors and industrial and commercial users of TCE as a processing aid.

 

In June 2025, a nuclear fuel manufacturer contacted EPA with concerns about how the prohibition of TCE would affect their production, which the agency notes “has national security and critical use applications.” Under the interim final rule, EPA will now prohibit the use of TCE as a processing aid in nuclear fuel manufacturing—a use the agency describes as “newly identified”—on Sept. 15, 2028, instead of this month. Manufacturers and processors of TCE will now have until Dec. 16, 2025, to amend their safety data sheets to reflect the 2028 prohibition compliance deadline for the “new use” of TCE as a processing aid in the manufacture of nuclear fuel.

 

EPA is accepting comments on its interim final rule until Oct. 17, 2025. For further details, see the Federal Register notice outlining the rule, the agency’s news release, and its webpage on risk management for TCE.

 

The EPA recently announced next steps regarding regulatory efforts to address cleanup of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS).

 

At this time, EPA is retaining the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) hazardous substance designation for PFOA and PFOS and will be initiating future rulemaking to establish a uniform framework governing designation of hazardous substances under Section 102(a) of CERCLA moving forward.

 

On September 17, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) submitted a court filing on behalf of EPA as part of ongoing litigation related to the designation of PFOA and PFOS as CERCLA hazardous substances. The agency is currently retaining the rule that became effective on July 8, 2024.

 

CERCLA imposes broad, retroactive, and potentially costly strict liability on those who released hazardous substances to the environment. In some cases, this liability can attach to entities that did not manufacture or generate the substance but received it in feedstocks, products, or waste. Such entities are sometimes referred to as “passive receivers.” There is some concern about passive receivers being called upon to foot the bill for contamination they did not cause.  EPA is trying to avoid this situation with regard to PFOA and PFOS.

 

 

The Federal Aviation Administration issued proposed fines totaling $3,139,319 against The Boeing Company for safety violations that occurred from September 2023 through February 2024. These include actions related to the January 5, 2024, door plug blowout, and interference with safety officials’ independence. The FAA utilized its maximum statutory civil penalty authority consistent with law.

 

The FAA identified hundreds of quality system violations at Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Washington, and Boeing subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems’ 737 factory in Wichita, Kansas. Additionally, Boeing presented two unairworthy aircraft to the FAA for airworthiness certificates and failed to follow its quality system.

 

Furthermore, the FAA found that a non-ODA Boeing employee pressured a Boeing ODA unit member to sign off on a Boeing 737-MAX airplane so Boeing could meet its delivery schedule, even though the ODA member determined the aircraft did not comply with applicable standards.

 

Boeing has 30 days after receiving the FAA’s penalty letters to respond to the agency.

 

 

A grand jury indictment was unsealed recently charging two individuals for their alleged involvement with bypassing treatment processes and tampering with a monitoring device at a Nashville waste treatment facility.

 

The indictment alleges that Randall Ray Stark, of Texas, and Caleb Warren Randall, of Tennessee, conspired to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to violate the Clean Water Act. According to court documents, Stark was the Facility Operations Manager and Randall was the Plant Supervisor at the facility operated by Allwaste Onsite, doing business as Onsite Environmental (Onsite). As part of the alleged conspiracy, Stark and Randall directed Onsite employees to bypass treatment processes and discharge untreated and partially treated wastewater into the Nashville sewer system in December 2022 and in January 2023. The indictment further alleges that Stark and Randall tampered with and caused Onsite employees to tamper with a sampling device that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County placed to monitor Onsite’s compliance with its pretreatment permit.

 

On Aug. 5, Onsite pleaded guilty in Nashville to federal charges relating to the discharges.

 

If convicted, the defendants face a total sentence of up to 17 years in prison, as well as fines, restitution, and supervised release.

 

Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire for the Middle District of Tennessee made the announcement.

 

The EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division and Office of Inspector General investigated the case. 

 

Senior Trial Attorney Matthew T. Morris of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ahmed A. Safeeullah for the Middle District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.

 

 

A new health hazard evaluation (HHE) report available from the NIOSH website describes the agency’s findings and recommendations related to lead exposures to workers repairing, installing, and conducting maintenance on telecommunications cables. NIOSH personnel collected air, surface, bulk, and hand wipe samples, surveyed workers, reviewed records of blood lead levels (BLLs), and observed workers in manholes, trenches, and other settings.

 

The HHE report explains that lead sheath was used to protect telecommunications cables from the late 1800s until the mid-1900s, when the industry switched to plastic-sheathed cables. According to the report, “an unknown number of lead-sheathed telecommunications cables continue to be actively used or remain abandoned in place after being replaced by plastic-sheathed cables.” The workers’ union was concerned about potential occupational exposures to lead, particularly for workers based in three specific garage facilities, and invited NIOSH to evaluate them.

 

The garages employed 117 workers. Seventy percent were splice service technicians (SSTs), who specialize in cable splicing. The remaining workers were outside plant technicians (OPTs), who work on telecommunications infrastructure located outside of buildings and whose tasks include digging trenches and entering manholes to install or connect cables and wires.

 

In its evaluations, NIOSH focused on exposures to workers who entered manholes “due to the smaller space and potential concentration of lead-sheathed cables in these environments that workers may encounter or disturb.” Agency personnel collected four personal air samples, one of which, from an SST, was over the OSHA action level for lead of 30 µg/m³. Analysis of nine handwipe samples confirmed the presence of lead even for those who had washed their hands prior to sampling. Lead was found in vehicles, on equipment and tools, and in some common areas of the garages. Seven of 42 BLL test results provided by the union, and 11 of 120 results provided by management, had lead concentrations of at least 5 µg/dL, which is the NIOSH blood lead reference level for adults. NIOSH also observed that some employees wore KN95 masks instead of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) and that others did not know when it was necessary to wear personal protective equipment.

 

The agency recommended that the employer follow the requirements of the OSHA lead standard after obtaining air sampling results above the action level, which include additional exposure monitoring, engineering and administrative controls, medical surveillance, and annual training on lead hazards. Other recommendations included identifying, where possible, the presence of lead-sheathed cables before workers enter manholes and providing training on work practices that help prevent exposure to lead in air, on how to recognize when PPE is required, and on the appropriate use of N95 FFRs.