Virginia Co. to Pay Penalty, Improve Systems to Prevent Potential Oil Spills at Hurt, Va. Facility

EPA Press Release:

Virginia Co. to Pay Penalty, Improve Systems

to Prevent Potential Oil Spills at Hurt, Va. Facility

PHILADELPHIA (May 2, 2013) -- English Construction Company has agreed to prepare and implement oil spill prevention plans and pay a $17,289 penalty to settle alleged violations of federal oil spill prevention regulations at its construction facility at 113 Main Street in Hurt, Va., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

Under the Clean Water Act, owners of facilities that store 1,320 gallons of oil or more must develop and implement a spill prevention, control and countermeasure (SPCC) plan. SPCC plans are required to prevent discharges of oil from onshore facilities into navigable waterways, and for containing oil in the event a discharge occurs.

During a compliance inspection at the Hurt facility, EPA inspectors found that the company failed to prepare an SPCC plan. In addition, EPA alleged that English Construction failed to conduct required testing and visual inspections of oil storage containers, failed to put in place facility drainage safeguards, or to adequately train personnel to operate and maintain equipment for preventing oil spills.

An accidental oil spill into sewers and waterways can pose threats to people’s health and the environment. English Construction’s SPCC plans will prevent potential oil spills into nearby Roanoke River.

Costs associated with spill prevention plans are often much less than costs for cleaning up spills that occur.  

EPA’s penalty takes into account English Construction’s efforts in resolving the alleged violations, and that the company is now complying with applicable SPCC regulations.