EPA, Precision National Plating reach settlement on cleanup at Clarks Summit, Pa. site

Press release:

EPA, Precision National Plating reach settlement

on cleanup at Clarks Summit, Pa. site

PHILADELPHIA – (May 31, 2012) --- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with Precision National Plating Services, Inc. on a plan to clean up groundwater and surface water contamination at a site in Clarks Summit, Pa. where the company had operated a chrome plating facility from 1958 to 1999.

EPA has been overseeing Precision’s cleanup activities at the site since 1991. The company was performing this cleanup work under a prior EPA order, which addressed soil contamination. This order has been replaced by the settlement agreement announced today, which also addresses groundwater and surface water contamination. Under the agreement, Precision will continue to implement the EPA-selected cleanup plan for the site. The plan includes using a process known as “in situ chemical remediation” that involves injecting a chemical reducing agent into the ground to treat groundwater that is contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a chemical compound that had been used at the facility.

The final cleanup plan, expected to take several years, will also include extensive monitoring of groundwater wells on the site and around the perimeter of the site.

Located about 10 miles north of Scranton, the Precision National Plating Site, 198 Ackerly Road, Clarks Summit, Pa. includes 46 acres overall and about five acres that were used for site operations. The rest of the property is undeveloped and largely wooded.

Precision used the site for a chromium electroplating facility for locomotive crankshafts. Under an April 1998 EPA Administrative Order, Precision performed an investigation of ground water impacts due to hexavalent chromium contamination, conducted an ecological risk assessment and installed collection and treatment systems at all chromium impacted seeps at the site. In a 2008 consent decree, Precision agreed to pay for EPA’s costs in overseeing the site cleanup.

For more information on the settlement and cleanup plans, visit www.epaosc.org/precision.

Colorado-based QEP Field Services Agrees to Pay $4 Million and Install Pollution Controls to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Clean Air Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 16, 2012

Colorado-based QEP Field Services Agrees to Pay $4 Million and Install Pollution Controls to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Clean Air Act

Settlement to improve air quality and establish a trust to fund environmental projects on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Northeastern Utah

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced a settlement with QEP Field Services Co. (QEPFS), formerly Questar Gas Management Co., to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at five natural gas compressor stations on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Northeastern Utah. Four members of the Ute Indian Tribe intervened as co-plaintiffs. Under the proposed settlement, QEPFS will pay a $3.65 million civil penalty and pay $350,000 into a Clean Air Trust Fund to be established by the tribal member intervenors. The settlement also requires QEPFS to reduce its emissions by removing certain equipment, installing additional pollution controls, and replacing the natural gas powered instrument control systems with compressed air control systems.

“Natural gas extraction projects help to fuel our economy, but also need to follow the nation’s laws,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s settlement will bring cleaner air to the members of the Northern Ute Tribe by ensuring natural gas compressor stations are operated in compliance with the law and by creating a trust to fund environmental projects on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.”

“This settlement will result in cleaner air for residents living on the Uintah and Ouray reservation and allow the responsible development of energy resources in accordance with the Clean Air Act,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, assistant attorney general for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. “It also will establish the Tribal Clean Air Trust Fund to fund environmental projects for the benefit of tribal members.”

QEPFS’s compressor stations remove water and compress natural gas for transportation through gas pipelines. They are sources of air pollution, emitting hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nitrogen oxides (NO_x), which can increase the risk of asthma attacks and are significant contributors to the formation of ozone. The actions required in the settlement will eliminate approximately 210 tons of NO_x, 219 tons of carbon monoxide, 17 tons of HAPs, and more than 166 tons of VOCs per year. It will also conserve 3.5 million cubic feet of gas each year, which could heat approximately 50 U.S. households. The reduction in methane emissions (a greenhouse gas that is a component of natural gas) is equivalent to planting more than 300 acres of trees.

QEPFS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of QEP Resources, Inc., which is headquartered in Denver.QEPFS provides midstream field services such as natural gas gathering, compression, dehydration and processing to upstream natural gas companies.

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.

More information about the settlement: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/cases/civil/caa/qepfs.html

Learn more about EPA’s civil enforcement of the Clean Air Act: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/caa/index.html

R083

EPA settles with BNSF Railway Company for improperly handling contaminated soil in North Portland

EPA settles with BNSF Railway Company for improperly handling contaminated soil in North Portland

(Portland, OR – April 25, 2012) – The BNSF Railway Company has settled with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for mishandling and transportation of contaminated soil from a construction project near the McCormick & Baxter Superfund site on the banks of the Willamette River. The BNSF Railway Company will pay a $37,500 penalty as part of the agreement.

Documents associated with today’s action show that BNSF Railway Company excavated and removed at least three truckloads (36 cubic yards) of soil containing a listed hazardous waste, pentachlorophenol. EPA alleges that BNSF Railway Company then: 

•  failed to properly characterize the excavated waste
•  failed to lawfully store and manage the waste on site, and
• failed to properly transport the contaminated soil from the site to a disposal facility equipped and permitted to handle such waste.  

Each failure was a violation of federal hazardous waste law, enforced by EPA to protect communities and the environment. Although BNSF’s contractor performed the work BNSF is responsible for ensuring that all construction projects are performed in a safe and lawful manner.

According to Edward Kowalski, Director of EPA’s Office of Compliance and Enforcement, BNSF Railway Company has ample experience in handling, managing, transporting, and disposing of contaminated soil.

“Major corporations and their contractors are well aware of the rules and the importance of properly managing hazardous waste,” said EPA’s Kowalski. “Managing and transporting contaminated soil safely requires that you pay attention to detail and strictly comply with all federal, state and local laws.”

Pentachlorophenol, a manufactured chemical, was used in wood treating that took place while the McCormick & Baxter facility operated. It is a restricted use pesticide that has been used industrially for decades as a wood preservative for utility poles, railroad ties, and wharf pilings. Exposure to high levels of pentachlorophenol has been shown to cause liver damage, harm the immune system, and have damaging reproductive and developmental effects. EPA has also identified pentachlorophenol as a probable human carcinogen.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality was instrumental in bringing this situation to the attention of EPA. In October, 2009, inspectors from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), who happened to visit the McCormick & Baxter site, observed employees of BNSF Railway Company’s contractor excavating soil close to the known cap boundary (finished in 2005).

Subsequent sampling and analysis of excavated soils confirmed the presence of constituents of various wood-treating preservatives, and pentachlorophenol in particular. Further investigation by EPA and ODEQ over the next several months brought the additional violations to light.

Under the terms of the agreement, BNSF Railway Company will pay the $37,500 penalty.

By signing the agreement, BNSF Railway Company did not admit to the allegations contained in the agreement.

News Release from EPA - Sumter Coatings

Sumter Coatings Inc. to Pay Civil Penalty for Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Violations 

Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

(ATLANTA - Feb. 27, 2012) — Sumter Coatings Inc. (SCI) agreed to pay a $55,000 civil penalty as part of a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a series of hazardous waste violations at its facility in Sumter, South Carolina.  As part of the settlement, SCI agreed to develop a personnel training program, develop a schedule for implementation of the training program and identify facility employees that require training. 

SCI manufactures paints and coatings primarily for the steel and farm implement industry. SCI also blends raw materials onsite to create custom coatings. The violations were observed during April 2010, when inspectors from the EPA and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control performed a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Compliance Evaluation Inspection.

The settlement resolves several alleged violations that were noted during the inspection. The alleged violations include:

• Improper management of hazardous waste containers on site;
• Failure to provide a sufficient base beneath containers which held hazardous waste;
• Failure to make a hazardous waste determination;
• Failure to inspect all areas where hazardous waste containers are stored weekly;
• Failure to develop personnel training program to ensure compliance with hazardous waste management’s;
• Failure to update information contained in the contingency plan, along with failing to make arrangements with local police and hospital authorities regarding the contingency plan and submitting copies of the contingency plan to first responders.

SCI implemented the process changes to reduce the risk of release from hazardous waste containers.  The changes include: labeling all containers with the necessary information; reducing the number of locations where short term storage occurs; changing container sizing and completing all necessary waste determinations.  SCI also applied a non-porous sealant to the base floor surface where the majority of hazardous waste containers are staged during regular operations. 

###

$10 Million Settlement with Mining Company

News release from EPA Region 9:

For Immediate Release: Feb 16, 2012Media Contacts: Mary Simms, 415-947-4270, simms.mary@epa.gov, Rusty Harris-Bishop, 415-972-3140, harris-bishop.rusty@epa.govDept. of Justice: (202) 514-2007                    

    U.S. EPA, Dept. of Justice reach $10 Million settlement with Department of the Interior, Northern California mining company for cleanup costs and transfer of land to Elem Indian Colony

SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized a multi-party agreement to settle cleanup costs for seven mining sites in three states. The parties to the agreement include the U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bradley Mining Company, the Worthen Bradley Family Trust and the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians.

Under the settlement, the Bradley Mining Company and Bradley Trust will transfer nearly all of their land holdings at the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine to a new trust created to retain the lands pending EPA cleanup. The Elem Indian Colony will receive approximately 380 acres of uncontaminated land - adding to its current holdings of 50 acres - as compensation for natural resource damages from mining operations by the Bradley Mining Company.     


Nearly $7 million in federal funds will be used to reimburse EPA’s costs for cleaning up contamination at the Elem Indian Colony and the access road to the Colony.


“This significant settlement took three years to hammer out. The result is a win for Clear Lake and a win for the Elem Colony,” said Jared Blumenfeld, Regional Administrator for EPA’s Pacific Southwest region. “This settlement will help the Clear Lake ecosystem recover, including reducing the risks due to mercury in fish. It also demonstrates EPA’s strong commitment to supporting the environmental cleanup of tribal lands.”


In addition to the land transfers relating to the Sulphur Bank Mine, the proceeds from insurance policies and any future income from the Bradley Mining Company will be divided among the seven mine sites for future cleanup, with the Bradley Mining retaining a share of the proceeds.


The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine Superfund Site is located at the southeastern end of the Oaks Arm of Clear Lake. The site includes the Elem Indian Colony which is located directly adjacent to the mine property. The site initially was mined for sulfur from 1865 to 1871. Mercury ore was mined intermittently by underground methods from 1873 to 1905, and open-pit mined from 1915 to 1957. The mine, once one of the largest producers of mercury in California, has been inactive since 1957.


Approximately three million cubic yards of mine wastes and tailings remain on the mine site. Mercury is present in the bottom sediments in Clear Lake, and mercury has bio-concentrated in the food chain of Clear Lake. The levels of mercury in fish from the lake led the State to issue an advisory to limit consumption of fish. Clear Lake is the source of water that the Clear Lake Oaks Water District provides for municipal drinking water for 4,700 people.


This cleanup effort is one of several tribal land cleanups in the Pacific Southwest Region. EPA is currently overseeing the investigation and clean up of contamination on Hopi and Navajo lands throughout the southwest.


The settlement, lodged in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. A copy of the settlement document will be available on the Department of Justice website at: www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html


For more information please visit: www.epa.gov/region9/sulphurbankmercury

###