International Builder and DC-based Subsidiary Agree to Pay $270,000 to Settle Stormwater Violations at Construction Sites

Press release:

International Builder and DC-based Subsidiary Agree to Pay $270,000

to Settle Stormwater Violations at Construction Sites

 

(PHILADELPHIA, August 29, 2012) Turner Construction Co., an international builder based in New York City, and its subsidiary Tompkins Builders, Inc. of Washington, D.C., have agreed to pay $270,000 in civil penalties for alleged violations of federal stormwater regulations at construction sites throughout the mid-Atlantic region, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.    

On August 27, 2012 EPA filed two Consent Agreements and Final Orders alleging that Turner and Tompkins violated their Clean Water Act permits allowing for the discharge of stormwater from construction sites, and in other instances discharged construction stormwater without permits. The alleged violations occurred at 17 construction sites the companies operated in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Fifteen of these sites are located in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and two are in the Delaware River watershed (see attached list of construction sites).

Turner and Tompkins operated these sites for clients including federal and local governments, the Department of Defense, universities and other organizations. A construction project at Prince George’s Community College Center for Health Studies is among them, in which case unfiltered basin water flowed, absent a permit, to the storm sewer system that discharges to the Western Branch of the Patuxent River.

In the mid-Atlantic region, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania are authorized to issue CWA stormwater permits with oversight from EPA; stormwater permits in the District of Columbia are issued by EPA.

In general, the permits in this case required the companies to install controls to prevent pollutants, such as sediment, debris, and chemicals, from being discharged in stormwater into nearby waterways. These controls may include common-sense safeguards such as silt fences, phased site grading and sediment basins to prevent construction contaminants from polluting waterways.

EPA’s complaint includes allegations that at various sites the companies failed to:

•     Perform or properly document required site inspections;
•     Maintain structures and controls designed to prevent polluted stormwater from reaching streams; and,
•     Obtain CWA Permits prior to beginning construction.  

EPA worked closely with state and local environmental agencies to detect and resolve these violations. State and local personnel conducted numerous field inspections, and the agencies shared technical and legal expertise. EPA required Turner and Tompkins to provide extensive documentation concerning their construction activities at numerous locations.
In addition to paying civil penalties, Turner and Tompkins entered into an earlier settlement requiring the companies to implement a program to assure future compliance with federal construction stormwater requirements.
As part of the settlement, the companies did not admit liability for the alleged violations. To view a copy of the consent agreement http://www.epa.gov/reg3wapd/npdes/enforcement.html.

To learn more about EPA’s stormwater management program, http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater.

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Turner/Tompkins Construction Sites where stormwater violations occurred:

Facilities Covered	Facility Address
Sustainment Center for Excellence	Corner of Lee Avenue and A Avenue, Fort Lee, VA 23801
Langley Air Force Base Hospital Addition	63 Pine Road, Langley Air Force Base, VA 23665
Warrenton Training Center, Station C Firing Range	Summerduck Road, Remmington, VA
Building B-70 Warrenton Training Center	Bearwallow Road, Warrenton VA
D.C. Youth Center, Laurel, MD	8100 Main Ave, Laurel, Md 20724
Hershey Expansion Project	Hershey, PA
Martin Luther King Memorial	Ind Avenue, and West Basin Drive, SW, Washington, DC 20001
Fort Belvoir Community Hospital	Building R1450, 9025 Richmond Hwy, Fort Belvoir 22314
Prince George’s Community College Center for Health Studies	301 Hay Road, Largo, MD 20774
TRADOC Headquarters	Murphy Field, Fort Eustis, VA 23604
Franklin & Marshall University Race Street Parking Lot	415 Harrisburg Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603
Army National Guard Readiness Center	111 S George Mason Dr., Arlington, VA 22204
Drexel University Integrated Sciences Building	33rd and Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104
FDA Consolidation at White Oak – Buildings 31 & 32	10903 New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20993
Penn Park Complex	299 South 30th St. Philadelphia, PA 19104
Salamander Resort and Spa	23325 Foxcroft Rd, Middleburg, VA 20117
C4ISR Center for Excellence	2201 Averdeen Blvd. Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21010