Shenango, Inc. Settles Air and Water Pollution Violations with EPA, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County

Press release:

Shenango, Inc. Settles Air and Water Pollution Violations with EPA, Pennsylvania and Allegheny County

(PHILADELPHIA – July 25, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) have reached a settlement with Shenango Inc. (Shenango) resolving alleged air and water pollution violations at the company’s coke manufacturing plant on Neville Island, Allegheny County, Pa. The consent decree requires the company to pay $1.75 million in civil penalties and make significant upgrades to the plant, which is located about five miles north of downtown Pittsburgh.

Manufacturing coke involves heating coal at high temperatures in an industrial oven until it forms a residue. This residue, known as coke, is used in steel manufacturing as a fuel in blast furnaces, which are used to refine iron ore into steel. Coke manufacturing also produces gases and particles, some of which are hazardous, that are regulated by the federal Clean Air Act.

The Shenango facility has a history of noncompliance with federal, state and county regulations protecting public health from air pollution. In 2000, the previous owner of the plant entered into a consent decree with EPA and ACHD to bring the facility into compliance.

Since that time, the violations including emissions of sulfur and visible emissions of particulate matter have continued. As part of this settlement, the company must take actions to reduce visible particulate emissions to meet Clean Air Act standards by making repairs to the plant’s coke ovens.

The governments’ complaint also alleges numerous violations of the Clean Water Act including: exceeding the pollutant limits of the facility’s permit for discharging wastewater for several years; failure to properly operate and maintain the facility’s wastewater treatment plant; and unpermitted discharges of polluted runoff from the coal pile directly to the Ohio River.

The part of the consent decree between EPA, PADEP and Shenango resolving Clean Water Act violations requires the company to take remedial actions including:

• Building a new biological wastewater treatment plant;
• Implementing immediate upgrades to its current treatment processes while the new treatment facility is being constructed; and
• Constructing a coal pile runoff management system.

The civil penalties in the proposed consent decree include $1.25 million to be divided equally between the United States and Allegheny County for the facility’s Clean Air Act violations. The company has also agreed to pay Clean Water Act civil penalties of $500,000 divided equally between the United States and Pennsylvania. The consent decree is subject to federal court approval, after a 30 day public comment period.

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.