U.S. Attorney and EPA Announce Settlement with City of Gloucester

Press release:

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
August 23, 2012

Contact:    U.S. EPA: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017
                  U.S. Attorney’s Office: Christina DiIorio-Sterling, (617)748-3356

U.S. Attorney and EPA Announce Settlement with City of Gloucester
Settlement Ensures that Gloucester Continues to Improve Treatment Plant and Addresses Sewer Overflows

(Boston, Mass. – Aug. 23, 2012) – Under the terms of a modified Consent Decree lodged in federal court today, the City of Gloucester will upgrade its sewage treatment plant and work to stem overflows from its sewer system.  The modified Consent Decree stems from a federal enforcement action brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts, on behalf of the Department of Environmental Protection.

United States Attorney Carmen Ortiz said, “Compliance with the federal Clean Water Act is critical for the health and safety of the citizens of our Commonwealth.  I am pleased that the City of Gloucester agreed to this modified Consent Decree, which will continue to improve the water quality in Gloucester Harbor.”

“This settlement should keep the City of Gloucester on the right track,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England region.  “Directing more concentrated efforts at maintaining treatment facilities and increasing cooperation between city departments will better protect Gloucester’s vital coastline.”

“We are pleased that the City of Gloucester will be taking steps necessary to protect its historic harbor and beaches,” said Attorney General Martha Coakley.  “These measures are crucially important as we work to ensure that our waters continue to be an invaluable resource for our coastal communities and the Commonwealth.”

Gloucester’s existing primary Treatment Plant is nearly 30 years old, and while the City has recently completed important upgrades, the system is in need of additional repair and rehabilitation to meet the terms and conditions of the current discharge permit.  Maintenance has been inadequate and parts have not been replaced in a timely manner.  These problems have resulted in discharges of poorly treated sewage in violation of the City’s permit.  Under the Consent Decree, the City will address these problems.

Gloucester’s combined sewer system is designed to collect stormwater runoff, domestic sewage and industrial waste water in the same pipes and convey these wastewaters to the Treatment Plant.  The City’s system also includes several combined sewer overflow (CSO) outfalls, which discharge untreated wastewater when flows exceed the system’s capacity, typically during significant wet weather events.  The City’s CSO discharges violate the provisions of the Clean Water Act, and the Massachusetts Water Quality Standards.  The City initially developed a long-term CSO control plan in 2005.  The Modified Consent Decree replaces the 2005 CSO control plan, with a new, more cost-effective approach to mitigate and in some cases eliminate CSO discharges.  Implementation of this work will serve to improve water quality at Pavilion Beach and in Gloucester Harbor.

The City’s NPDES permit, however, does not allow overflows during dry weather.  Dry weather discharges occurred in Gloucester when there was still capacity in the system because the City did not pay close enough attention to operating the system.  The City has addressed the dry weather overflows and will work to minimize wet-weather other overflows under the Consent Decree.  Because of the City’s financial condition, the consent decree modification does not impose a penalty for the violations leading to this action. 

More information: The Consent Decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.  Once it is published in the Federal Register, a copy of the consent decree will be available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

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New treatment system cleaning up groundwater At Crossley Farm Superfund Site

Press release:

Contact: Roy Seneca seneca.roy@epa.gov, 215-814-5567

New treatment system cleaning up groundwater

At Crossley Farm Superfund Site

BARTO, Pa. (July 10, 2012) – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin commemorated the opening of a new water treatment system today in a ribbon cutting ceremony. The new system will remove contamination from the groundwater at the Crossley Farm Superfund site in Hereford Township in Berks County.

“This construction project, which used approximately $6.5 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and created more than 60 jobs, demonstrates EPA’s commitment to transforming the contaminated groundwater associated with this Superfund site back to beneficial use for the local community,” said Garvin. “The people of Hereford Township can look upon this site as a tremendous success story.”

Located on 200 acres of farmland, the Crossley Farm site was once used for dumping various wastes, resulting in a TCE-contaminated groundwater plume. As part of EPA’s ongoing long-term cleanup plan for the site, the pump-and-treat system will treat the TCE-contamination in the groundwater. Underground piping connects the new treatment plant to four wells where the contaminated water is pumped to the plant and treated before being discharged on farm property adjacent to Perkiomen Creek. The system, which includes four extraction wells that can pump a total of about 450 gallons per minute, will help prevent the contaminated plume of groundwater from spreading.

The groundwater will be treated with air stripping technology to remove the TCE contamination. The water will then go through carbon filtration before it is discharged. The vapors coming from the air stripping treatment will also be treated before being released.

EPA received about $6.47 million in funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to accelerate construction of the treatment plant and the cleanup. This Recovery Act funding was part of the $600 million that Congress appropriated to the federal Superfund remedial program. 

More details on the Crossley Farm Superfund cleanup can be found at http://www.epa.gov/reg3hwmd/npl/PAD981740061.htm . 

EPA Orders Foster Poultry Farms to Stop Discharging Pollutants Into Louisiana Waters

EPA Orders Foster Poultry Farms

to Stop Discharging Pollutants Into Louisiana Waters

(DALLAS – March 26, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a cease and desist administrative order to Foster Poultry Farms in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, for unauthorized discharges of pollutants into a tributary of Leatherman Creek.

On January 26, 2012, the EPA inspected the hatchery and found unauthorized discharges of pollutants from its process wastewater lagoon to an unnamed tributary of Leatherman Creek. Leatherman Creek drains into Black Creek Bayou and it in turn drains into the Red River.

“A chicken hatchery should be raising chickens not pollution levels in nearby rivers,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “We expect poultry farms to comply with laws that protect water quality.”

Foster Poultry Farms, doing business as Foster Farms Athens Hatchery, operates a chicken hatchery located approximately two miles east of Athens on the north side of Louisiana Highway 518 in Claiborne Parish. The facility has been ordered to immediately stop all discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States.

Water quality across the United States is threatened by phosphorus and nitrogen, two nutrients present in chicken litter. In excessive amounts, nutrients often cause an explosion of algae that robs water of oxygen, causing fish kills.

As a result of the inspection, Foster Poultry Farms has been ordered to immediately take action to stop all discharges of pollutants from its process wastewater lagoon. Within 30 days they must submit to the EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality a certified summary, including photographs, that document the unauthorized discharges have been stopped.

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

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/mar2012.html

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Crowds fill downtown for St. Patrick's Day

Do you suppose they had an NPDES permit to turn the Chicago River green?

Crowds fill downtown for St. Patrick's Day

News Release from GE

14 March 2012

GE to Supply Water Recycling Technology for SAGD Project in Alberta Oil Sands

 

GE’s Evaporation System to Help Boost Production, Reduce Liquid Waste Requiring Disposal

TREVOSE, PA.—March 14, 2012—GE’s (NYSE: GE) wastewater evaporation technologies have been selected to improve wastewater recovery at an existing oil sands project near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. The facility utilizes once through steam generators (OTSGs) to produce steam, which drives the steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process for the production of bitumen, which is a heavy crude oil produced from oil sands.

GE’s system will recycle a portion of the OTSG blowdown, thereby decreasing the volume of liquid waste from the facility and increasing the volume of boiler feed water available for generation of steam and production of bitumen. The use of GE’s evaporation technologies for the recovery of OTSG blowdown is gaining traction in the Alberta oil sands, where producers are seeking sustainable production processes that satisfy increasingly stringent environmental regulations. This project is the fifth to utilize GE’s evaporation technologies for OTSG blowdown treatment. To date, 14 SAGD projects have selected GE evaporation technologies, including six over the past 19 months, for their produced water and OTSG blowdown treatment applications.

“We are aligning our businesses to best meet the needs of Canada’s oil sands industry by offering more energy and water efficient products and services,“ said Jeff Connelly, vice president, engineered systems—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water.

For example, in December 2011, GE opened a new oil sands support center in Fort McMurray to provide greater local support to customers as they experience significant growth in this important sector. In 2012, GE also is scheduled to open a new Heavy Oil Centre of Excellence in Calgary, further building on a strong commitment and presence in the province of Alberta.

EPA Awards Over $380,000 to Improve Drinking Water Treatment

News release from EPA Region 6:

EPA Awards City of Andrews, Texas, Over $380,000

to Improve Drinking Water Treatment System

(DALLAS – February 10, 2012) A grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will help improve the drinking water treatment system in Andrews, Texas. The grant for $388,000 will be used by the city to install a filtration and reverse osmosis system to reduce arsenic and fluoride levels in drinking water provided to municipal customers. Exposure to high levels of arsenic can result in kidney disease, as well as lung and liver cancer and excessive levels of fluoride in drinking water can result in abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. Once completed, the project will improve the health of Andrews residents.

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

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/feb2012.html

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EPA Orders Racetrack to Stop Discharges

News Release from EPA Region 6:

EPA Orders Albuquerque Racetrack to Stop Discharges to Protect Rio Grande

(DALLAS – January 25, 2012)  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an order to halt discharges of animal waste, industrial run-off and other pollutants into the Rio Grande.  The action was taken against the Downs at Albuquerque Inc. and EXPO New Mexico, a 93-acre race track and casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico, that accommodates almost 1,400 horses during racing season.

“Companies must operate in a way that protects vital water resources,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz.  “When a facility fails to meet its responsibilities, the EPA will work closely with our state partner agencies to enforce the law.”

On November 15, 2011, the New Mexico Environmental Department (NMED) conducted an on-site inspection and found that the facility did not have a properly designed storm water runoff containment structure.  The facility also does not have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit which allows facilities to discharge to waters of the U.S.  

Pollutants commonly associated with animal waste or manure often include nitrogen and phosphorus, organic matter, bacteria and sediments.  These pollutants can clog rivers and streams with algae, kill fish by reducing oxygen in the water, transmit waterborne diseases and impair the enjoyment of waterways.

To comply with the order, the Downs and EXPO New Mexico must immediately take all necessary actions to prevent future discharges of pollutants into U.S. waters and notify the EPA of any discharges of pollutants from the facility into waters of the U.S.  

For more information about animal feeding operations, visit http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/afo/cafofinalrule.cfm
More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html
EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/jan2012.html