News Release from EPA

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Contact: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

Pennsylvania Company Settles Toxic Chemical Reporting Violations at Nazareth, Pa. Facility

PHILADELPHIA (February 21, 2012) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Essroc Cement Corporation has agreed to pay a $82,000 penalty to settle alleged violations of toxic chemical reporting requirements at its manufacturing facility located at 401 West Prospect St., Nazareth, Pa.

According to EPA, Essroc failed to submit three years of required reports on a regulated toxic chemical (lead) which was processed at this facility.

EPA cited the company for violating the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). This law requires companies that manufacture, use or process more than a threshold amount of listed toxic chemicals to file an annual toxic chemical release form with EPA and the state. These reports are used to compile the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) -- a publicly available EPA database, searchable by zip code, that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities.

The multi-establishment Nazareth, Pa., plant processes lead as part of the manufacturing process for bulk and packaged cement. Lead and lead compounds are regulated under EPCRA due to the public health effects of ingestion or inhalation of lead, particularly among children, including damage to the nervous system. According to EPA, a June 2011 inspection revealed that Essroc did not submit annual reports for lead for three years (2006 through 2008) when the Nazareth facility processed lead in amounts in excess of 130,000 pounds annually -- significantly exceeding EPCRA’s 100 pound reporting threshold. (This settlement involves alleged reporting violations, not unlawful releases of toxic chemicals.)

The settlement penalty reflects the company's cooperation with EPA in resolving the alleged violations, and its compliance efforts. As part of the settlement, the company did not admit liability for the alleged violations, but has certified compliance with applicable EPCRA requirements.



In a separate matter, the United States recently announced a $1.7 million settlement of alleged Clean Air Act violations at six Essroc facilities nationwide, including the Nazareth plant.
See press release at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/48aa8dd28f3ab133852579750077751e!OpenDocument.

For more information on TRI and the TRI searchable database, go to: www.epa.gov/tri.

For more information on lead and its health effects, go to: See http://www.epa.gov/lead/index.html.

EPA to Begin Sampling Water at Some Residences in Dimock, PA

From EPA Region 3 news release:

EPA to Begin Sampling Water at Some Residences in Dimock, Pa.

           PHILADELPHIA (Jan. 19, 2012) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that it plans to perform water sampling at approximately 60 homes in the Carter Road/Meshoppen Creek Road area of Dimock, Pa. to further assess whether any residents are being exposed to hazardous substances that cause health concerns. EPA’s decision to conduct sampling is based on EPA’s review of data provided by residents, Cabot Oil and Gas, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“EPA is working diligently to understand the situation in Dimock and address residents’ concerns,” said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. “We believe that the information provided to us by the residents deserves further review, and conducting our own sampling will help us fill information gaps. Our actions will be based on the science and the law and we will work to help get a more complete picture of water quality for these homes in Dimock.”

The sampling will begin in a matter of days and the agency estimates that it will take at least three weeks to sample all the homes. All sampling is contingent on access granted to the property. EPA expects validated results from quality-tested lab to be available in about five weeks after samples are taken.

In addition, EPA is taking action to ensure delivery of temporary water supplies to four homes where data reviewed by EPA indicates that residents’ well water contains levels of contaminants that pose a health concern. EPA will reevaluate this decision when it completes sampling of the wells at these four homes. Current information on other wells does not support the need for alternative water at this time. However, the information does support the need for further sampling.