U.S. EPA Requires L.A. Oil Storage Facility to Reduce Risk of Spills

From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency:

For Immediate Release:   September 13, 2016
Media Contact:   Soledad Calvino, 415-972-3512, calvino.maria@epa.gov

U.S. EPA Requires L.A. Oil Storage Facility to Reduce Risk of Spills

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with General Petroleum Corporation to resolve federal Clean Water Act violations at its petroleum storage facility located on Terminal Island in the Port of Los Angeles, Calif. The company will pay a $15,500 penalty as part of the agreement, and has already come into compliance with the law.

"Spill prevention is a key planning element for oil storage facilities, especially those located near California’s precious waterways,” said Kathleen Johnson, Director of the Enforcement Division in EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. “To reduce the risk to San Pedro Bay, we have been working with our state and local partners to ensure the deficiencies were all addressed.”

Today’s action is a result of a joint inspection conducted by EPA and representatives of the Los Angeles Fire Department in April 2015. The investigation found that General Petroleum had violated regulations requiring onshore oil production facilities at risk of discharging oil to nearby waterways to prepare and implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) plan.

“This enforcement action, taken in partnership with the U.S. EPA, was needed to not only protect the City’s environment but to also protect the health and safety of the City’s residents,” said LAFD Fire Marshal, Chief John Vidovich, who oversees the program responsible for inspecting and enforcing environmental compliance at this type of facility.

General Petroleum is located within the Port of Los Angeles adjacent to the Los Angeles Harbor. The company failed to provide adequate secondary containment around tanks to keep spilled oil from leaving the site and entering surrounding waters. General Petroleum also failed to amend and re-certify its SPCC plan after making significant physical changes to its facility. In addition, the company did not maintain and implement an SPCC plan that discusses discharge or drainage controls, and procedures for the control of a potential discharge.

The goal of EPA's SPCC regulation is to prevent oil from reaching navigable waters and adjoining shorelines, and to plan for containment of oil discharges in the event of a spill. The regulation requires onshore oil storage facilities to develop and implement SPCC Plans and to establish procedures, methods, and equipment to prevent spills, and to respond properly if a spill occurs.

For more information on the SPCC program, please visit: http://www2.epa.gov/oil-spills-prevention-and-preparedness-regulations

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EPA Announces Summary of Enforcement Actions for Spring 2012

Press release:

EPA Announces Summary of Enforcement Actions for Spring 2012

Contact Information: Cyndi Grafe, EPA Public Affairs, (208) 378-5771, grafe.cyndi@epa.gov Kim Ogle, EPA Compliance and Enforcement, (206) 553-0995, ogle.kim@epa.gov

(Seattle – August 10, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed 38 enforcement actions from April 1 through June 30, 2012 to ensure individuals, businesses, and governments comply with the nation’s laws that protect public health and the environment.

Before taking enforcement actions, the EPA offers compliance assistance to help regulated industries and individuals understand and comply with federal environmental laws. When these laws are broken, it puts people’s health and the environment at risk. Those who don’t comply with the laws also gain an unfair business advantage over those who have invested in pollution controls and comply with the law.

Below is a summary table of EPA’s enforcement actions from April - June 2012. In some cases penalties are issued to help ensure a level playing field for and to deter future violations. Penalty amounts may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the number and magnitude of violations, how quickly the violations are corrected, whether there is a history of violations, and the ability of the respondent to pay. Compliance Orders direct the violator to bring their activities back into compliance with environmental laws, and do not include penalties.

April 1 - June 30, 2012

State	City of violation	Date issued/ filed	Respondent	Description of Alleged Violation	Penalty amount
AK	Cordova	04/05/12	Shoreside Petroleum, Inc.	Failure to sample discharges according to Clean Water Act (CWA)* permit for tank farms.	$70,000
AK	Haines	04/20/12	Robert and Nancy Loomis	Clean Water Act (CWA)* violations for unauthorized filling into wetlands and construction stormwater discharges without a permit.	$22,500
AK	N/A	05/11/12	Ocean Peace, Inc.	Violating Clean Water Act (CWA)* discharge permit on fishing vessel “Ocean Peace.”	$98,000
AK	Unalaska	06/08/12	Alyeska Seafoods, Inc.	Violations of Risk Management Program (RMP)* requirements at seafood processing plant.	$43,373
AK	Offshore	06/21/12	Akulurak, LLC	Fishing Vessel M/V Courageous failed to report and monitor discharges according to the (CWA)* Offshore Seafood Processors General Permit.	$1,500
ID	Buhl	03/25/12	Fish Breeders of Idaho, Inc.	Catfish aquaculture facility exceeded its phosphorus discharge limits and submitted reports late under a (CWA)* permit.	$15,000
ID	Idaho County	04/05/12	City Service Valcon	Tanker truck spilled 950 gallons of fuel, in violation of (CWA)* oil and hazardous substances liability requirements.	$3,000
ID	Caldwell	04/27/12	Rhodes International	Failure to properly report the storage of ammonia at Caldwell, ID facility. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)	$84,484
ID	Cottonwood	05/18/12	Idaho Department of Corrections	Exceeding (CWA)* permit requirements for ammonia, E. coli, biological oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and pH; at the North Idaho Correctional Institution	$51,000
ID	Rupert	05/21/12	Brewster West LLC	Violations of Risk Management Program (RMP)* requirements for anhydrous ammonia (CAA)* at cheese factory.	$4,260
ID	Ahsahka	05/25/12	Ahsahka Water and Sewer District	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of E. coli, total suspended solids, total residual chlorine, and pH.	$694
ID	Culdesac	05/25/12	City of Culdesac	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of E. coli, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, total residual chlorine, and pH.	$1,000
ID	Caldwell	06/13/12	City of Caldwell	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of total suspended solids and total ammonia.	$11,000
ID	Wilder	06/13/12	City of Wilder	Wastewater treatment plant violations of (CWA)* permit for discharge of E. coli,   biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids and total residual chlorine.	$3,100
OR	Pendleton	04/16/12	Joe McDonald	Agricultural burning on the Umatilla Indian Reserbation during a “no-burn day” in violation of the Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR)*.	$1,300
OR	Portland	04/16/12	BNSF Railway Co.	Removing contaminated soil from under a Superfund cleanup cap without identifying the hazardous waste (RCRA)*	$37,500
OR	Portland	04/16/12	Kanto Corporation	Failure to submit timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI)* Reporting Forms for ammonia, hydrogen fluoride, and nitric acid. (EPCRA)*	$58,200
OR	White City	04/24/12	Thermo Fluids, Inc.	Deficient Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures (SPCC)* plan and inadequate secondary containment measures.	$1,400
OR	Portland	04/25/12	Columbia Sportswear	Sale and distribution of misbranded pesticide infused clothing products. (FIFRA)*	$22,880 Stop Sale Order
OR	Boardman	04/27/12	Columbia River Processing, Inc.	Released 2,400 pounds of anhydrous ammonia at a cheese producing facility and failed to notify federal, state and local authorities in violation of (EPCRA)* and (CERCLA)*.	$42,435
OR	Portland	05/25/12	American Property Management	Failed to notify tenants of possible presence of lead in residences before signing lease housing contracts. (TSCA)*	$10,000
OR	Nehalem	05/30/12	Dila Dairy, Inc.	Discharged pollutants from Confined Animal Feeding Operation in violation of (CWA)* permit.	$10,000
OR	Klamath Falls	06/29/12	Curtis O. Baney Marital Trust	Failed to notify tenants of possible presence of lead in residences before signing lease housing contracts. (TSCA)*	$24,600
OR	Vale	06/29/12	Farmers Supply Cooperative, Inc.	Produced pesticides in an unregistered facility. (FIFRA)*	$2,080
WA	Wapato	04/26/12	Pace International LLC	Sale and distribution of misbranded pesticide products. (FIFRA)*	$6,000 Stop Sale Order
WA	Bellingham	05/11/12	Robert Kerr	Failed to notify tenants of possible presence of lead in residences before signing lease housing contracts. (TSCA)*	$21,800
WA	Seattle	05/15/12	Machinists (DSR), Inc.	Failure to submit timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI)* Reporting Forms for xylene. (EPCRA)*	$8,500
WA	Whatcom County	05/15/12	Nielsen Brothers, Inc.	Truck spilled 120 gallons of diesel, in violation of (CWA)* oil and hazardous substances liability requirements.	$11,000
WA	Toppenish	06/19/12	Green Acre Farms, Inc.	EPA’s Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR)* resulting from burning prohibited materials and open burning during burn bans.	$3,500

*List of acronyms:

CAA – Clean Air Act

CERCLA - Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability

CWA – Clean Water Act

EPCRA – Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

FARR – Federal Air Rules for Reservations

FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

RMP – Risk Management Program

SDWA – Safe Drinking Water Act

TRI – Toxic Release Inventory

UST – Underground Storage Tank

TSCA - Toxic Substances Control Act

EPA Awards Over $1.6 Million to the State of Oklahoma to Support Environmental Programs

Press release:

EPA Awards Over $1.6 Million to the State of Oklahoma to Support Environmental Programs

(DALLAS – July 27, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1,603,137 to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality to assist with environmental permitting, enforcement and facility inspections. This Performance Partnership Grant will also be used to perform outreach and education, accreditation of training providers and certification of firms and individuals performing lead-based paint abatement activities.

The EPA and states share responsibility for protecting human health and the environment. This unique relationship is the cornerstone of the nation's environmental protection system. Working together, we have made enormous progress in protecting our air, water and land resources. Under traditional environmental program grants, states receive funds to implement the various water, air, waste, pesticides and toxic substances programs.

Additional Information on EPA grants is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/gandf/index.htm

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

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EPA announces summary of enforcement actions for Winter 2011

EPA announces summary of enforcement actions for Winter 2011

Kelly Huynh, EPA Compliance and Enforcement, 206-553-1679, huynh.kelly@epa.gov
Jeff Philips, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1465, philip.jeff@epa.gov

(Seattle – May 3, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) completed 35 enforcement actions from January 1 through March 31, 2012 to ensure individuals, businesses, and governments are complying with environmental regulations. The EPA’s compliance assistance programs help people understand and follow federal environmental laws. Enforcement deters those who might otherwise profit from violating the law and levels the playing field with environmentally compliant companies. Protecting human health and the environment is the ultimate objective.

Below is a summary table of EPA’s enforcement actions during the second quarter of federal fiscal year 2012 (January - March 2012). An important component of EPA’s enforcement activities, and a key way to deter misconduct, is to assess penalties for violations. For the cases where EPA assessed penalties, the penalty amount is listed in the table. EPA Region 10 assessed a total of $821,731 in penalties during the second quarter. Penalty amounts may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the magnitude of the violation, how quickly the violations are corrected, and whether there are past violations. Compliance Orders direct the violator to bring their activities back into compliance with environmental laws, and do not include penalties.

January 1 - March 31, 2012

State	City of violation	Date issued/ filed	Respondent	Description of Alleged Violation	Penalty amount
AK	Anchorage	03/14/12	SGS North American, Inc.	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator requirements. (RCRA)*	$1,500
AK	Fairbanks	03/12/12	Eielson Air Force Base	Failure to comply with universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$45,700
ID	Jerome	03/16/12	Rite Stuff Foods, Inc.	Failure to comply with risk management program (RMP)* requirements for anhydrous ammonia.	$5,700
ID	Lapwai	03/15/12	Nez Perce Tribe Drinking Water Systems	Failure to comply with Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA)* requirements for monitoring and reporting violations to customers and EPA at the North Lapwai, South Lapwai, and Kamiah water systems.	N/A (Administrative Order on Consent)
ID	Grand View	03/12/12	US Ecology Idaho, Inc.	Failure to submit timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Forms for more than 20 chemicals, including mercury, lead, and PCBs. (EPCRA)*	$184,000
ID	Nezperce	03/06/12	Robert Branson	Failure to comply with EPA’s Federal Air Rules for Reservations (FARR)* resulting from agricultural burning above permitted levels.	$1,200
OR	Medford	03/29/12	NPK Industries, LLC	Failure to register three pesticides. (FIFRA)*	N/A (Stop Sale Order)
OR	Tigard	03/05/12	AG Specialties, LLC	Failure to properly label imported pesticides. (FIFRA)*	N/A (Stop Sale Order)
OR	Portland	02/28/12	Wilbur Ellis Company	Sale and distribution of misbranded pesticide products. (FIFRA)*	$50,320
OR	Nehalem	02/28/12	River End Dairy, LLC	Failures to comply with Clean Water Act (CWA)* permit requirements by discharging pollutants to waters of the United States.	$6,300
OR	Liberal	02/27/12	Sanders Wood Products, Inc.	Failures to properly manage PCBs, including failure to repair, replace, or contain leaking PCB transformers. (TSCA)*	$108,400
OR	Eugene	01/06/12	Forrest Paint Company	Failure to comply with risk management program (RMP)* requirements for propane.	$18,000
WA	Colville	03/29/12	Colville Post and Pole	Partial cost recovery ($5,000) for a removal action, based on the potentially responsible party’s (PRP's) ability to pay. (CERCLA)*	N/A (Cost Recovery)
WA	Seattle	03/26/12	U.S. Department of Commerce – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Western Regional Center	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste requirements. (RCRA)*	$2,250
WA	Moses Lake	02/17/12	J.R. Simplot Company	Failure to properly label pesticides. (FIFRA)*	N/A (Stop Sale Order)
WA	Centralia	02/16/12	TransAlta Centralia Generation, LLC	Failure to comply with requirements for the proper use and disposal of electrical transformers containing PCBs. (TSCA)*	$28,500
WA	White Swan	02/13/12	Fort Simcoe Job Corps Center’s Drinking Water System	Failure to conduct required monitoring and report violations to customers and EPA. (SDWA)*	N/A (Compliance Order)
WA	Harrah	02/07/12	Hush & Hush, Inc., and C.I. Lovell, Inc.	Failure to comply with Clean Air Act requirements for handling demolition of asbestos materials and limiting fugitive air emissions. (CAA)*	$11,000
WA	Wapato	02/06/12	City of Wapato	Failure to comply with Clean Water Act requirements, primarily due to exceeding permit limits for ammonia. (CWA)*	$57,000
WA	Spokane	01/30/12	Spokane Tribe of Indians	Arsenic in drinking water above maximum contaminant levels at the Martha Boardman and Ford water systems. (SDWA)*	N/A (Administrative Order on Consent)
WA	Warden	01/17/12	Oregon Potato Company	Failure to report an ammonia release to the Washington Emergency Response Commission and the National Response Center. (EPCRA and CERCLA)*	$66,235
WA	Yakima	01/17/12	Yakama Tribal Gaming Corp dba Yakama Nation’s Legends Casino	Failure to discharge in compliance with a NPDES permit. (CWA)*	N/A (Compliance Order)
WA	Silverdale	01/11/12	U.S. Department of Navy – Naval Base Kitsap at Bangor	Failure to comply with underground storage tank requirements to detect or prevent releases to the environment. (RCRA)*	$160,756
WA	Wenatchee	01/11/12	Custom Apple Packers, Inc.	Failure to comply with risk management program (RMP)* requirements for anhydrous ammonia.	$69,480
AK WA	Greenacres Brewster Longview Kelso Castle Rock		City Service Valcon Triangle Shell/Exxon LLC Beachway Gas and Grocery and City Shop 13th Avenue Mini Mart, Rocky Point Market, and Kelso Longview Regional Airport Link’s Four Corners General Store	Failure to conduct tests or maintain documentation to detect or prevent releases to the environment. (UST)*	Total of $5,390 for violations at the named facilities.

*EPCRA – Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

FARR – Federal Air Rules for Reservations

FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

CWA – Clean Water Act

CAA – Clean Air Act

RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

RMP – Risk Management Program

SDWA – Safe Drinking Water Act

TRI – Toxic Release Inventory

UST – Underground Storage Tank

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