EPA Uses Cutting-Edge Technology to Evaluate Chemicals for Human Hormone Impacts

EPA uses automated chemical screening technologies to rapidly and simultaneously perform tests on thousands of chemicals and feed the results into computational models to predict hormone-related, endocrine activity. Some of these automated chemical screenings have been performed using robots from the federal Toxicology in the 21st Century, (“Tox21”) consortium, a collaboration among EPA, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The new technology enables faster and less costly screening than conventional methods.

“This is the beginning of a new day for testing chemicals for safety,” said Jim Jones, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “These new technologies allow us to screen more chemicals in less time, use fewer animals and reduce costs for everyone.”

This new endocrine screening approach reliably identifies the potential for chemicals to mimic estrogen in hormone physiology. The method provides an alternative to three of the eleven current screening tests, most of which require animals. The Tox21 consortium is rapidly developing additional models to predict androgen and thyroid activity, which will provide alternatives for the other eight tests. Thus far, EPA has estrogen screening results for 1,800 chemicals; by FY2016, we expect results for almost 3,000 chemicals.

EPA has coordinated with other governmental entities, industry, and environmental groups in the development of these methods. 

The endocrine system is comprised of glands that are spread across an organism’s body. The glands secrete hormones when triggered and can affect an organism in a variety of ways. In the 1990's, scientists proposed that certain chemicals might disrupt the endocrine system in humans and wildlife.

There is compelling evidence of developmental and reproductive problems in certain fish and wildlife following exposure to chemical contaminants. hese required EPA to screen pesticide chemicals for their potential to produce effects similar to the hormone estrogen in humans, and gave EPA the authority to screen additional chemicals for other endocrine effects.

In 2006, EPA recognized the need for a comprehensive review of current toxicity testing approaches. The agency also requested that the National Research Council (NRC) conduct a review and propose a vision and strategy for toxicity testing incorporating new methods and technologies.

The alternative, cutting-edge equipment that EPA is presenting for endocrine screening, represent the first steps in a paradigm shift for chemical safety testing. These new tools provide a robust scientific basis for assessing and managing chemical safety and efficiently quantifying risk to human health and the environment for thousands of chemicals.

 Comments must be received on or before August 17, 2015.

New Exclusions for Solvent Recycling and Hazardous Secondary Materials

EPA’s new definition of solid waste rule will present new opportunities for waste recycling outside the scope of hazardous waste regulation. Environmental Resource Center will be presenting a webcast on the new Definition of Solid Waste rule on Monday, June 29th at 2:00 pm Eastern Time. This rule, which goes into effect on July 13, 2015, will maintain critical environmental protections while streamlining the regulatory burden for wastes that are legitimately recycled.

The first of the two exclusions is an exclusion from the definition of solid waste for high-value solvents transferred from one manufacturer to another for the purpose of extending the useful life of the original solvent product by keeping the materials in commerce to reproduce a commercial grade of the original solvent product.

The second, and more wide reaching of the two exclusions, is a revision of the existing hazardous secondary material recycling exclusion. This exclusion allows you to recycle, or send off-site for recycling, virtually any hazardous secondary material, and it will not meet the definition of solid waste. Provided you meet the terms of the exclusion, the material will no longer be hazardous waste.

Learn how to take advantage of these exclusions at Environmental Resource Center’s live one-hour webcast. You will learn:

• Which of your materials qualify for the exclusion?
• What is a secondary material?
• Which solvents can be remanufactured, and which cannot?
• What is a tolling agreement?
• What is legitimate recycling?
• What are the generator storage requirements?
• What documentation must be maintained?
• What are the off-site shipping requirements?
• What are the training and emergency planning requirements?
• Can the recycler be outside the US?

Learn DOT’s New Rules for Lithium Battery Shipments

• Enhance packaging and hazard communication requirements for lithium batteries transported by air
• Replace equivalent lithium content with Watt-hours for lithium ion cells and batteries
• Adopt separate shipping descriptions for lithium metal batteries and lithium ion batteries
• Revise provisions for the transport of small and medium lithium cells and batteries including cells and batteries packed with, or contained in, equipment
• Revise the exceptions for small cells and batteries in air transportation
• Revise the requirements for the transport of lithium batteries for disposal or recycling
• Harmonize the provisions for the transport of low production and prototype lithium cells and batteries with the ICAO Technical Instructions and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code
• Adopt new provisions for the transport of damaged, defective, and recalled lithium batteries

If you ship batteries by ground or air, you must comply with the latest DOT and IATA/ICAO regulations that specify how the batteries must be packaged, marked, labeled, and transported. The rules apply not only to batteries, but also to equipment or vehicles that contain batteries as well as batteries packed along with equipment. Virtually all types of batteries are regulated, including lithium, lead-acid, nickel cadmium, and metal hydride alkaline. According to 49 CFR 172.704, all personnel involved in the classification, packaging, marking, labeling, or shipment of batteries must receive initial and recurrent transportation training.

Dayton RCRA and DOT Training

Raleigh RCRA, DOT, and EHS Regulations Training

Macon RCRA and DOT Training

EPA Must Protect Drinking Water and Downstream Communities from Power Plant Pollution

Power plants discharge more than 5.5 billion lb of pollutants into US waterways every year, contributing to the contamination of more than 23,000 miles of rivers and 185 water bodies whose fish are too toxic to eat.

As the EPA weighs the nation’s first limits on toxic water pollution from power plants—due in September—a new report details the damage caused by the wastewater and the need for strong regulations to protect public health.

While EPA has estimated that controlling these pollutants would provide $14 million to $20 million worth of health benefits per year, a more accurate assessment would likely far exceed $300 million annually, according to the report, which was written by Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Environmental Integrity Project, Sierra Club, Earthjustice, and Clean Water Action.

"EPA has a historic opportunity to update Clean Water Act protections and to make sure our nation's drinking water systems and their consumers aren't bearing the burden and footing the bill to clean up coal plant water pollution," said Clean Water Action Water Programs Director Jennifer Peters. "EPA must put the prevention of contamination and public health protection before the interests of an industry that has had a free pass to poison our nation's waters for decades."

The current wastewater pollution guidelines for power plants have not been updated since 1982 and do not restrict discharges of heavy metals, despite the fact that the electric power industry is responsible for the majority of toxic water pollution from industrial sources.

"For more than 30 years, power plants have dumped toxic chemicals into our waters, even though there are laws on the books that require the industry to clean up its act," said Thom Cmar, Earthjustice’s lead attorney on this issue. "This report shows the EPA the enormous benefits of finally righting this wrong, and why cleaning-up the nation’s biggest water polluters is a no-brainer."

The proposed rule, formally the Effluent Limitations Guidelines for the Steam Electric industry, or "ELG," contains a menu of options that the agency is considering. The authors of the report urge the EPA to choose the strongest possible protections against water toxics from power plants, which are outlined in the agency’s proposal as options 4 and 5. Both would eliminate almost all heavy metal water pollution from the industry.

"Strong clean water laws are about a child’s right to grow up healthy and holding polluters accountable for decades of toxic dumping," said Casey Roberts, an author of the report and staff attorney at the Sierra Club. "As things stand today, thousands of lives are unnecessarily put at risk due to outdated policies and irresponsible polluters. In September, EPA has a chance to change that for the better."

"Coal-burning power plants are pouring poisonous heavy metals into our waterways. These toxic substances—like mercury, lead and arsenic—are putting at risk the health of our children and the developing brains of our babies," said Barbara Gottlieb, Director of Environment and Health at Physicians for Social Responsibility. "We need robust, effective protection from the EPA to get this dangerous pollution under control."

The benefits to public health, downstream communities, and the economy justify the largest possible reduction of toxic discharges. Unfortunately EPA's analysis only estimated the economic value of three specific human health benefits. EPA disregarded the positive impact of, among other things, safer drinking water and fish that are safer to eat in waterways downstream from power plants. When the full range of benefits is taken into account, the strongest possible regulations are justified.

"Americans will be much healthier because of this rule, and that has a huge economic benefit," said Abel Russ, the lead author of the report and Attorney at Environmental Integrity Project. "If you add it all up, looking at the human health benefits alone, the rule will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in economic value each year."

EPA Selects Three Universities to Help Find New Uses for Toxics Data

This year’s academic partners are the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, and Mercyhurst University.

“For more than 25 years, the TRI Program has gathered data critical to helping communities make informed decisions about their environment,” said Ann Dunkin, EPA chief information officer. “Through the 2015 TRI University Challenge, we hope to raise awareness of this valuable data among students and professors, and engage them in research that will benefit their communities and further our work to protect human health and the environment.” 

 TRI lends itself to a wide variety of uses, including academic research, public policy development, sustainable corporate governance, and environmental education.

The 2015 TRI University Challenge follows the successful 2014–2015 challenge, in which EPA selected six academic partners to collaborate on projects related to data visualization and analytics for improving the understanding of TRI data. Three of these projects are ongoing and are expected to finish within the 2015–2016 academic year.

The TRI University Challenge is open to faculty and students affiliated with accredited colleges or universities.

EPA Report Shows Progress on E-Recycling

Through EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management program, the agency seeks the most productive and sustainable use of materials across their life cycle, minimizing the amounts of materials involved and all associated environmental impacts. Earlier this month, the G7 committed to ambitious action to advance the efficient use of natural resources throughout their life cycle.

 “Building on the progress on sustainable materials management, EPA is engaging the business, government and NGO sectors to leverage this new report and G7 Declaration to identify and act on opportunities for resource efficiency.

Sustainable materials management is a systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively over their entire lifecycles in order to identify opportunities to reduce environmental impacts, conserve resources, and reduce costs. EPA is advancing sustainable materials management by convening dialogues with key SMM stakeholders, providing sound science and information to the public, and establishing challenges to specific sectors to achieve shared goals.

In the Annex to the G7 Leaders’ Declaration, it’s noted that establishing a G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency will provide a forum to exchange, promote best practices and foster innovation together with business and other stakeholders, including from the public sector, research institutions, academia, consumers and civil society, on a voluntary basis. Unsustainable consumption of natural resources and environmental degradation translates into increasing business risks through higher material costs, as well as supply uncertainties and disruptions. Resource efficiency offers opportunities to reduce the burden on the environment while strengthening the sustainability, competitiveness and growth of the economy. The G7 Alliance on Resource Efficiency aims to promote an exchange of concepts on how to address the challenges of resource efficiency, to share best practices and experience, and to create information networks.

For every million cell phones we recycle, 35,000 lb of copper, 772 lb of silver, 75 lb of gold, and 33 lb of palladium can be recovered. Through EPA’s Sustainable Materials Management Electronics Challenge, equipment manufacturers and retailers are promoting responsible electronics recycling. Challenge participants send 100% of their used electronics to a recognized third-party certified recycler by the third year of their participation, and publicly report this information.

Also in 2012, EPA launched the Food Recovery Challenge to address the largest waste stream going to landfills. More than 700 participants have joined and committed to preventing wasted food and feeding people.

EPA’s Advancing SMM Facts and Figures report was formerly known as the MSW Characterization Report.

Sherwin-Williams Co. Fined $71,500 for Hazardous Materials Violations

The Catalyst for 3.5 Epoxy Primer also is flammable and corrosive.

Employees at the Indianapolis sorting center discovered one of the shipments was leaking.

Additionally, the FAA alleges the contents exceeded the allowable quantity for air transportation and that Sherwin-Williams failed to ensure the employees who processed them had received required hazardous materials training.

The FAA further alleges that the shipment that leaked was not packaged to prevent the release of hazardous materials to the environment under normal transportation conditions.

The company has 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

Columbia Falls Aluminum Company and Calbag Resources Agree to Address Hazardous Waste Violations

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced that Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC) and Calbag Resources LLC have agreed to address potential violations of the Montana Hazardous Waste Act at the aluminum reduction facility’s Pot Room Building in Columbia Falls.

This Consent Order does not address the demolition and disposal of any other building, structure, or equipment associated with aluminum processing or reduction at the facility. Nor does the Consent Order address the release of Superfund hazardous substances at the site. The EPA will work in close consultation with DEQ through a separate process to ensure a protective cleanup of the site under the federal Superfund program. EPA has proposed the site to the National Priorities List and the state of Montana supports this listing of CFAC. CFAC and Calbag are not required to obtain a permit for the storage of hazardous waste from the Pot Room Building for more than 90 days provided they comply with the provisions of the Consent Order.

 Once the process of removing K088 begins, CFAC and Calbag will have 90 days to process, store, and transport the waste from that individual site to a permitted hazardous waste disposal facility.

All K088, and any other listed or characteristic hazardous waste, will be removed from the Pot Room Building within two years from the date DEQ approves the plan. Additionally, the DEQ Asbestos Control Program has been providing direct compliance assistance and regulatory permitting for demolition of the facility.

Novel Battery Uses Light to Produce Power

To move the world toward sustainability, scientists are continuing to explore and improve ways to tap the vast power of sunlight to make fuels and generate electricity. Now they have come up with a brand-new way to use light—solar or artificial—to drive battery power safely. Their “photo battery,” reported in ACS’ The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, uses light and titanium nitride for the anode.

Metal-ion batteries such as those based on lithium ions run most of our gadgets. But they take a long time to charge. They can also overheat and catch fire if they’re defective or damaged. These problems are often related to the unstable material used for the anode, the negative side of the battery. Musthafa Ottakam Thotiyl and colleagues wanted to address these flaws in a unique way.

The researchers developed a battery with a titanium nitride photoanode that is highly stable and thus far safer than conventional options. Under normal indoor lighting, it discharged electric current and recharged within 30 seconds without an external power source. The photo battery worked for more than 100 cycles and could power a light-emitting diode (known as an LED). Although not yet strong enough to run commercially available devices, the researchers say their design is a promising first step toward a more sustainable and safer battery technology.

The authors acknowledge funding from the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Department of Science and Technology of India.

EPA Investigation Finds Union Pacific Railroad Facility Violated Permit Discharge Limits

 Union Pacific also failed to properly monitor the pH levels of its discharges.

To resolve the violations, the company entered into two administrative orders with EPA. Under a compliance order, Union Pacific will fully implement its Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP), conduct required onsite inspections, properly conduct all sampling, install and maintain best management practices to prevent the discharge of pollutants, and conduct proper operation and maintenance at the facility as required by their permit and the SWPPP. The SWPPP is designed to ensure appropriate measures are taken to reduce pollutants discharged to Joachim Creek.

In the second administrative order, a proposed consent agreement and final order, Union Pacific also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $58,800.

Pollutants in stormwater can violate water quality standards, pose risks to human health, threaten aquatic life and its habitat, and impair the use and enjoyment of waterways.

Protecting streams and wetlands is also part of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea level rise, stronger storms, and warmer temperatures.

The consent agreement for penalties is subject to a 40-day public comment period before it becomes final. 

State Water Board Adopts Order Providing Framework for Stormwater Capture and Use in Los Angeles

California’s State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) recently adopted an order largely upholding the Waste Discharge Requirements for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) discharges within the watersheds of Los Angeles County. The order makes minor revisions to requirements first established by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (L.A. Water Board) that provide a framework to promote integrated stormwater capture and reuse. Capture and reuse will improve water quality, protect local beaches, and supplement local water supplies.

 “Our collective objective should be to use each scarce drop of water, and each local dollar, for multiple local benefits—flood control, water supply, water quality, and urban greening in the face of climate change. The Board's order furthers these objectives, and we pledge to stay engaged in monitoring and oversight to achieve those results while protecting water quality."

On November 8, 2012, the L.A. Water Board issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to control stormwater and non-stormwater discharges that enter coastal draining watersheds in Los Angeles County from MS4s owned or operated by the Los Angeles County Flood Control District, Los Angeles County and 84 municipal permittees. The Los Angeles County MS4 Permit updated a previous permit issued by the L.A. Water Board in 2001.

In developing the permit, there was an unprecedented level of collaboration among the permittees and other stakeholders. The L.A. Water Board crafted a permit that implemented rigorous permit requirements, including the implementation of Low Impact Development (LID) requirements, water quality improvement-driving provisions consistent with the requirements of 33 Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), and requirements for monitoring at outfalls which had not previously been required. Along with the strong permit requirements, the permit also laid out an option for municipalities to implement the permit on a watershed scale in order to incentivize coordinated watershed-based solutions; facilitate collaboration and cost- effectiveness; to prioritize actions; and to ensure improved water quality.

The State Water Board received 37 petitions challenging various provisions of the Los Angeles County MS4 Permit. On November 21, 2014, the State Water Board released a draft order for public comment resolving the contentions raised in the petitions, including the issue of compliance with receiving water limitations in MS4 permits generally. Following a public meeting in Los Angeles and multiple rounds of public comment, the State Water Board released revised drafts of its proposed order on April 24, 2015, and June 12, 2015. After receiving extensive oral and written comments from local communities, environmental groups, and other stakeholders, the State Water Board adopted a final order on June 16, 2015.

The State Water Board’s order upholds the Los Angeles County MS4 Permit with some changes. Once again, the State Water Board affirms the requirement that municipal stormwater permits should include requirements to meet water quality standards. The order also upheld a number of additional challenged provisions of the Los Angeles County MS4 Permit, including specific pollutant limitations, monitoring and reporting requirements, and provisions to effectively prohibit non-stormwater discharges.

Engineered Materials Solutions LLC Fined $50,000 for Unlawfully Storing Industrial Wastewater

A metal-cladding company will pay a civil penalty of $50,000 to resolve allegations that it unlawfully stored industrial wastewater at its facility in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Attorney General Maura Healey announced recently.

The consent judgment, entered recently in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges that between October 2010 and May 2014, Engineered Materials Solutions, LLC, (EMS) violated the state’s Industrial Wastewater Holding Tank Regulations by storing wastewater in holding tanks prior to shipping it offsite for treatment and disposal, even though EMS has an existing connection to the Attleboro sewer system. State regulations prohibit such storage where immediate discharge to a sewer system is feasible.

“We allege this company wrongfully stored industrial wastewater on-site, even though it has an existing connection to Attleboro’s sewer system,” AG Healey said. “The Holding Tank Regulations are intended to prevent wastewater from being unnecessarily transported on state roads and to avoid utilizing facilities with less effective treatment technologies. This settlement will ensure that industrial wastewater is properly disposed of moving forward.”

The AG’s Office alleges that EMS also inaccurately certified to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) in October 2010 that its facility was in compliance with the Holding Tank Regulations, stating that it was not feasible for it to discharge its industrial wastewater to a sewer system. MassDEP uncovered these violations as the result of an enforcement action against NewStream, LLC, which had been receiving wastewater for treatment from EMS. 

“Proper management of industrial wastewater is essential,” MassDEP Commissioner Martin Suuberg said. “Appropriate disposal options are available, and MassDEP is always ready to assist those needing help with environmental compliance.”

The Holding Tank Regulations are intended to promote the disposal of industrial wastewater within the sewer district in which it is produced, thereby reducing unnecessary storage, handling, and transport of that wastewater.

Metal cladding involves bonding two different metals together under high pressure using rolling machinery and heat treatments. EMS’s metal-cladding operations produce liquid wastes, including acid and alkaline cleaning bath waters, and various rinse waters. According to the complaint, filed in May, prior to shipping its residual liquid waste to that off-site wastewater treatment facility, EMS stored it in on-site holding tanks and allegedly transferred approximately 50,000 gallons of liquid waste off-site for treatment and disposal each month.

Under the terms of the consent judgment, EMS is required to pay a civil penalty of $50,000 and connect all of its wastewater discharges to the Attleboro sewer system within one year. Of that amount, a total of $20,000 will be waived if EMS completes that connection within that timeframe.

Pennsylvania DEP Assesses $8.9 Million Civil Penalty Against Range Resources for Failure to Repair Leaking Gas Well

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has notified Range Resources-Appalachia, LLC, of Fort Worth, Texas, that it intends to assess an $8.9 million civil penalty against the company, and has directed Range Resources to prevent methane and other substances from escaping from a leaking gas well and polluting groundwater and a stream in Lycoming County.

On May 11, 2015, DEP ordered Range Resources to submit a plan to remediate the defectively cemented gas well. However, the company failed to submit a satisfactory plan that made necessary repairs to prevent further leaks and pollution.

“Today, we made it clear that we take seriously our responsibility to protect residents and Pennsylvania’s natural resources,” said DEP Secretary John Quigley. “Clean water is an important part of a strong economy and Range Resources owes it to the people of Lycoming County and surrounding areas to make the repairs necessary to immediately stop the discharge of natural gas to the waters.”

The $8.9 million civil penalty would be assessed under the Clean Streams Law and the 2012 Oil and Gas Act.

Drilling for the well took place in February and March of 2011, and fracking occurred in June 2011. Subsequent investigation revealed that methane contaminated the groundwater-fed wells of private water supplies, and a nearby stream.

Although Range Resources was issued a Notice of Violation in September 2013 for the leaking gas well, it still has not corrected the defective cement. Since that time, the private wells, a pond, and nearby streams have continued to show signs of gas migration, including increased turbidity, and the presence of iron, aluminum, and manganese. Elsewhere in the area near the leaking well, foliage “dead spots” and gas escaping from the soil have been observed by DEP.

DEP’s May 11, 2015, order cited Range Resources for not correcting the defective well, and ordered the company to submit and implement a plan to prevent the migration of gas or other fluids. Calling the continued gas migration “unlawful conduct and a public nuisance,” DEP gave Range Resources ten days to submit a remediation plan.

Range Resources submitted a plan that proposed putting the well into production as a means to resolve the gas migration. DEP rejected that plan because it did not include making necessary repairs and has now directed the company to remediate the well in a manner that immediately ceases the discharge of methane to ground and surface water.

“Range Resources has the responsibility to eliminate the gas migration that this poorly constructed well is causing,” said Quigley. “Refusing to make the necessary repairs to protect the public and the environment is not an option.”

Range Resources has appealed the May 11 order to Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board.

Biodiesel Fuel Company Owner Pleads Guilty to Fraud and Clean Air Act Crimes

Philip Joseph Rivkin, a.k.a. Felipe Poitan Arriaga, recently pled guilty to a Clean Air Act false statement and mail fraud as part of his role in a scheme to defraud EPA by falsely representing that he was producing millions of gallons of biodiesel fuel. According to the terms of the plea agreement, Rivkin faces more than 10 years in prison and will be responsible for $51 million in restitution to help reimburse victims.

“These crimes are a serious threat to an important program that helps combat climate change,” said Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at the EPA. “For undermining the Renewable Fuels Standard, Mr. Rivkin will pay substantial fines and restitution, and he also faces significant prison time. Companies and individual managers should get the message that there are serious consequences for breaking the rules and undermining the integrity of this program.”

In the plea agreement, Rivkin admitted that from July 2010 to July 2011, he devised the biodiesel fraud scheme as his business operation falsely generated renewable fuel credits, known as renewable identification numbers (RINs), and sold them to oil companies and brokers for more than $29 million.

On April 30, 2012, EPA issued Green Diesel, LLC, a Notice of Violation (NOV). The NOV alleged the company generated more than 60 million invalid biomass-based diesel RINs without producing any qualifying renewable fuel, and transferred the majority of these invalid RINs to others. On June 18, 2014, two US Secret Service Agents arrested Rivkin in Houston after he was expelled from Guatemala, which had expelled him for having fraudulently secured Guatemalan citizenship.

 The indictment included a notice of forfeiture to include: cash in excess of $29 million; three vehicles including a Lamborghini, Maserati, and a Bentley; a Canadair LTD airplane; and millions of dollars worth of artwork that was previously seized from Rivkin in 2012 and was included in a civil action for forfeiture.

By displacing fossil fuels, biofuels help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help strengthen energy security.

More information about EPA’s criminal enforcement program is available at

http://epa.gov/enforcement/criminal/index.html

Montana Man to Resolve UST Installer and Inspector Violations

The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently announced that Jerry Hollis, Jr., has agreed to resolve a violation of the Montana Underground Storage Tank (UST) Installer and Inspector Licensing and Permitting Act that occurred at the FedEx Ground Billings UST facility.

Hollis failed to comply with the construction permit requirements, terms, and conditions. Specifically, Hollis failed to ensure the automatic tank gauge would de-energize the system on any indication of any tank and/or piping sensor alarms or line failure. 

Hollis has agreed to pay a $240 penalty for the violation.

Philip Waltz to Resolve UST Violations

Montana DEQ has announced that Phillip Waltz has agreed to resolve violations of the Montana UST Installer and Inspector Licensing and Permitting Act that occurred at the Lake Pit Stop and Wibaux Coop Oil Co., UST facilities.

Waltz failed to comply with the construction permit requirements, terms, and conditions. Specifically, Waltz failed to provide a signed permit, a Certification of Compliance form, and documentation of the specific permit conditions as required by the permit. Shasta Steinweden of DEQ’s Enforcement Division explained that compliance with the construction permits issued by DEQ help to ensure that UST facilities are properly installed to reduce the risk of releasing regulated substances into the environment.

Waltz has agreed to comply with the construction permit requirements, attend three years of DEQ-sponsored refresher training, and pay a $195 penalty.

Shipping Company Fined $750,000 for Environmental Crimes

The Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced recently that Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd, a company based in Glasgow, United Kingdom, and operator of the M/V Murcia Carrier, pled guilty to failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in violation of the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS) and providing false statements to the US Coast Guard concerning the vessel’s garbage record book. The company has been sentenced to pay a criminal penalty of $750,000 and has been placed on three years of probation.

“Our oceans are life giving and life sustaining resources that our country and our world depend upon,” said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Ignoring perfectly legal and feasible ways to dispose of waste, the defendants chose instead to dump directly into the ocean. Today the company will pay a price for this inexcusable and criminal act.”

“Illegal discharges at sea damage our environment and endanger those who work in and enjoy our coastal waters,” said US Attorney Paul J. Fishman for the District of New Jersey. “As we have shown before, shipping companies that engage in these criminal practices and deliberately discharge oil—and then lie about it to the Coast Guard—will be prosecuted.”

APPS requires vessels like the M/V Murcia Carrier to maintain a record known as an oil record book in which all transfers and disposals of oil-contaminated waste, including the discharge overboard of such waste, must be fully and accurately recorded. Additionally, vessels like the M/V Murcia Carrier must maintain a record known as garbage record book that fully and accurately records the discharge of all garbage into the sea from the vessel.

On April 27, 2014, crew members on board the M/V Murcia Carrier dumped overboard several barrels containing hydraulic oil, at the direction of the vessel’s Chief Mate Valerii Georgiev. While Norbulk and Georgiev dispute the number of barrels dumped into the sea, the government believes that approximately 20 barrels were dumped overboard. The dumping occurred in international waters off the coast of Florida while the vessel was in transit from Costa Rica to New Jersey. The dumping was not recorded in either the ship’s oil record book or garbage record book as required. In an effort to conceal the dumping, crewmembers presented a US Coast Guard boarding team with a false oil record book and garbage record book when the vessel arrived in Gloucester, New Jersey.

On June 15, 2015, Georgiev also pleaded guilty to failing to maintain an accurate oil record book in violation of APPS. He is scheduled to be sentenced at a future date.

“Marine environmental protection is one of the Coast Guard's primary missions,” said Captain Benjamin Cooper, the Sector Commander at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. “The Coast Guard takes marine pollution seriously and works cohesively with our partner agencies to hold those who violate international law accountable for their actions. We anticipate the results of this case will deter future brazen illegal oil discharges into the sea.”

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Trivia Question of the Week

What percentage of corporations have already invested in solar power?

a) 10%

b) 20%

c) 40%

d) 50%