February 1, 2002 - Annual report due for facilities subject to new source performance standards under 40 CFR 60, Subpart Eb, located within a large municipal waste combustor plant
February 14, 2002 - Producers or importers of a Class I controlled substance must submit fourth quarter reports to EPA
February 14, 2002 - Importers or exporters of used Class II
controlled substances must report 2001 levels of such substances
to EPA
TIER II SUBMIT NOW AVAILABLE
EPA has developed a new software program, Tier2 Submit, to help
you prepare an electronic EPCRA Section 312 Tier II Emergency and
Hazardous Chemical Inventory report. The
software is now available at http://www.epa.gov/ceppo/tier2.htm
IATA RELEASES ERRATUM TO 43RD EDITION
Recently, IATA released an erratum for the 43rd Edition
(Effective January 1, 2002) Dangerous Goods Regulations. If you
ship dangerous goods by air, you should check out this update.
The erratum is available at http://www.iata.org/cargo/dg/
ATOFINA RESOLVES VIOLATIONS IN ALABAMA, KENTUCKY, TEXAS
ATOFINA Chemicals Inc. of Philadelphia, Pa., has entered into a settlement that will result in significant pollution control measures at the company's facilities in Alabama, Kentucky and Texas. The consent decree, which is subject to a 30-day public comment period, concludes an extensive multi-statute investigation of ATOFINA (formerly known as "Elf Atochem, North America Inc."), a worldwide specialty chemicals company with 26 manufacturing facilities in the United States.
At an estimated capital cost of $5.3 million, ATOFINA has committed to implementing pollution control measures that will reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions by approximately 2,500 tons per year and ozone-depleting substances (ODS) emissions by 750 tons per year from its facilities in Kentucky and Alabama. VOCs are key contributors to ground-level ozone, or smog, which can aggravate respiratory problems. ODS emissions are key contributors to the reduction in tropospheric ozone, which protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. ATOFINA also will install a new storm water control system at its Houston, Texas, facility and will undertake a supplemental project to improve a portion of the Montlimar Canal in Mobile, Ala., with emphasis on erosion control and development of a greenway along the canal banks. The company also will pay a civil penalty of $1.9 million.
The settlement resolves environmental claims brought under the
Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act and the Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act.
FORMER LOUISIANA LABORATORY OFFICE MANAGER SENTENCED
Jennifer Alexander, former office manager for Enviro-Comp Laboratories Inc., of Baton Rouge, La., was sentenced to six months home confinement and a $1,000 fine for committing perjury before a federal grand jury. The charges stem from an investigation of Enviro-Comp, which sought accreditation by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) to perform water tests for clients required to meet state environmental regulations under an EPA delegated program.
In 1999, while preparing for an LDEQ pre-accreditation audit, Enviro-Comp's owner, Shawn Decareaux-Kilgarlin, knowingly made false statements in Enviro-Comp's log books and certification analyses about water testing for the purpose of misleading the LDEQ auditor. In addition, she influenced Alexander to provide false information. Decareaux-Kilgarlin was convicted and was sentenced to serve one year in prison.
The case was investigated by EPA's Criminal Investigation
Division, LDEQ, the Louisiana Department of Justice and the Baton
Rouge Sheriff's Office. The case was prosecuted by the U.S.
Attorney's Office in Baton Rouge.
SOUTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL CONTRACTOR GOING TO JAIL
A former environmental contractor, James Edward Adams of Inman, S.C., has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervisory release for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and related crimes. The sentencing took place in the federal district court for the District of South Carolina.
Adams was the former president and owner of Carolina Upgrading of South Carolina, Inc., an Inman, S.C. environmental contracting business providing testing services for owners and operators of underground storage tanks (USTs). USTs contain petroleum products, including gasoline, and UST owners and operators are required by law to have their tanks tested to ensure their systems are not leaking any petroleum into the groundwater or soil.
On August 24, 2001, Adams and the company pled guilty to a 15-count indictment, which charged that from March 1994 through October 1999, Adams directed employees of his company to fraudulently provide false UST test reports to owners and operators of UST facilities located in South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Virginia and Tennessee.
Adams and his employees committed the scheme by printing false graphs for UST tests that were performed improperly or not at all. Many of the false tests became known as "driveway tests," because employees would generate the false tests on a computer in their own driveways, without ever conducting the tests at the UST facilities. Adams ordered employees to send the false test results and an invoice for payment through the mail to the company's customers. The company received payment, also through the mail, from each defrauded customer.
From 1994 through 1999, over 1500 false tests were performed, for at least 400 customers, in six states. UST owners and operators who were defrauded ranged from small commercial gas stations to a state college to a federal courthouse building. The total fraud suffered by customers of Adams and the company is approximately $750,000.
Adams was ordered to pay a special assessment of $1,500 and will have three years of supervised release after serving his 27-month prison sentence. The company was placed on probation for three years and ordered to pay a special assessment of $6,000. The court did not impose a fine on Adams or the company based upon an inability to pay.
Mark Scruggs and Chris Fletcher, former employees of the company, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud in April of 2000. Each were sentenced to five months of home confinement.
"These defendants not only violated the law, but also the trust of the underground storage tank owners and operators who, in good faith, sought to ensure that they were in compliance with the law," said Thomas L. Sansonetti, Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division. "Such fraudulent criminal activity could cause major environmental harm, and the Department of Justice will continue to seek out and prosecute these crimes."
"Those charged with the task of assuring that the environment is protected must perform that task competently," said US Attorney Strom Thurmond, Jr. "When they fail to do so, they must be held accountable, and this case accomplishes just that. I appreciate the cooperation of the investigative agencies that made this prosecution so successful."
The case was investigated by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Office of Criminal Investigations, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. EPA.