EPA Press Office:

EPA Fines the Ritz-Carlton Resort on St. Thomas, USVI for Violations of the Clean Water Act

Contact: Elias Rodriguez, (212) 637-3664, rodriguez.elias@epa.gov

NEW YORK (July 26, 2023) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has settled a case against The Ritz-Carlton Resort on St. Thomas, USVI, for its failure to monitor and report on discharges of treated wastewater coming from the resort, as required by the Clean Water Act. The Ritz-Carlton was late with its monitoring requirements over a period that spanned nearly five years, in violation of its Clean Water Act permit. The company will pay a civil penalty of $30,000 and has already addressed the cause of the violations. Additionally, the company will undertake a supplemental environmental project (SEP) estimated to cost approximately $27,000 to protect a wetland and improve water quality in Turquoise Bay.

“The Ritz Carlton is required to monitor its discharges into the ocean under the conditions of the Clean Water Act permit,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “EPA will hold companies accountable when they violate critical laws that protect public health and the environment.”

The Ritz-Carlton’s failures to carry out its responsibilities under its permit resulted in significant environmental non-compliance, an important measure that the agency uses to track repeated violations at a facility. When a party applies for and receives a permit to discharge under the Clean Water Act, the person or company is then responsible for monitoring their discharges for specific pollutants and reporting those results. These requirements form the basis of the EPA’s ability to ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act. In this case, EPA’s review of its national data system found inadequate monitoring of treated wastewater discharges from the Ritz-Carlton’s desalination operations, which is a violation of the resort’s permit.

Furthermore, Ritz-Carlton will perform a supplemental environmental project consisting of an oil and water separator and sediment trap to abate the discharge of oil and sediment into Turquoise Bay and a second sediment trap to minimize the discharge of sediment into a wetland on the resort’s property. These controls will improve the health of those waters and will benefit the people and wildlife that depend on them.

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 EPA Press Office:

EPA, Justice Department and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality Reach Agreement with City of Jackson on Proposal to Address Sewer System Issues

Like the November 2022 Agreement to Address Drinking Water, the Proposal Would Appoint an Interim Third-Party Manager to Oversee the Sewer System

WASHINGTON (July 26, 2023)  – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Justice Department, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), and the City of Jackson, Mississippi, agreed to a proposed stipulated order, lodged today in federal district court, to expedite needed sewer system repairs and to address spills of raw and undertreated sewage into homes, businesses, streets, yards and waterways. Under the terms of the agreement, the federal court would appoint Ted Henifin as interim third-party manager of the city’s sewer system. Henifin, who has been serving as interim third-party manager for the city’s drinking water system since November 2022, would manage, operate and maintain the city’s sewer system.

The proposal is an interim measure until the parties negotiate modifications to a judicially enforceable consent decree to achieve the sewer system’s long-term compliance with federal and state regulations. The proposed stipulated order is subject to a public comment period through August 31, 2023, during which public meetings will be held in the City of Jackson.

“In November of last year, the Justice Department filed a proposal to appoint a third-party manager to oversee and implement improvements to Jackson’s drinking water system,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today, we continue to protect the health and safety of Jackson residents by proposing the oversight and programs needed to restore Jackson’s sewer systems.”

“Under today’s agreement, expedited measures will be taken to address the City of Jackson’s deteriorating sewer infrastructure and inadequate operation and maintenance, which have caused residents and businesses to endure sewage discharges that threaten public health and the environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This action shows the continuing commitment of the Justice Department to seek justice, health and safety for the residents of Jackson, Mississippi, and to prioritize enforcement in the communities most burdened by environmental harm.”

“This agreement is an appropriate next step in our enforcement efforts to ensure that the City of Jackson lives up to its responsibility, pursuant to the federal Clean Water Act and Mississippi law, to address and correct issues with its sewer system,” said Executive Director Chris Wells of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

The agreement acknowledges that the city failed to achieve significant progress under a 2013 settlement among the parties that was entered by the federal court as a consent decree, and that the sewer system has further deteriorated over the last ten years, resulting in violations of the settlement, the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), the Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law (MAWPCL) and the city’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits associated with the sewer system.

The agreement requires implementation of certain programs and capital projects to improve the sewer system’s condition, operations, and maintenance that are anticipated to bring near-term relief to the city’s residents and businesses.

The interim third-party manager would have the authority to, among other things:

• Operate and maintain the city’s sewer system in compliance with the CWA, MAWPCL, and NPDES permits;
• Implement capital improvements to the city’s sewer system. This includes a set of priority projects to investigate and repair certain areas of the sewer system (including 215 areas previously identified by the city as emergency sewer failure locations), and certain repair work associated with the Savanna and Trahon wastewater treatment plants; and
• Implement or continue implementing programs to post signage about sewer overflows for which there is a reasonable expectation of public exposure; keep fats, oils, and grease out of the sewer system; and clean and inspect lines on a recurring schedule.

Under the proposal, the EPA, the Justice Department, the MDEQ, and the City of Jackson will resume negotiations within three years to modify the 2013 settlement to achieve long-term compliance with the CWA, MAWPCL and NPDES permits.

A copy of the proposed stipulated order and instructions for submitting public comments is available at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. All comments must be electronically submitted or postmarked by August 31.

Public meetings to receive comments are planned at the Mississippi e-Center, 1230 Raymond Road, Jackson, MS on August 21st, from 6pm – 8 pm.  Additional meetings are being planned and will be announced separately. For information and details on the public meetings, please visit https://www.epa.gov/ms/jackson-ms-sewer-system.

The case is being litigated by the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section, in conjunction with EPA and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.

Members of the public can help protect our environment by identifying and reporting environmental violations. Learn more

 EPA Press Office:

Globe Metallurgical to Pay $2.6 Million Fine, Implement Extensive Emissions Controls and Limit Sulfur Inputs to Reduce Pollution from Industrial Furnaces in Ohio

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2023) – Globe Metallurgical, Inc. has agreed to a consent decree that would require it to pay a $2.6 million civil penalty, implement an estimated $6.5 million in new and improved air pollution emissions controls and limit the sulfur content of inputs in its metal production process to settle alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA) at a ferroalloy production facility in Beverly, Ohio. Emissions of air pollutants, such as the sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulate matter (PM) emitted from Globe’s operation of five electric arc furnaces, may cause adverse environmental and health impacts, including lung disorders such as asthma and bronchitis.

 

According to the six-count complaint, filed simultaneously with the settlement today in the Southern District of Ohio, Globe allegedly violated CAA requirements following the expansion of one of its furnaces, including a failure to assess best available pollution control technology for the modified furnace and failure to demonstrate compliance with regulations applicable to ferroalloy production plants. The United States also alleged that Globe had a history of excessive emissions of PM from the facility in violation of its existing permits.

 

“This settlement requires Globe to take substantial steps to reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants from industrial furnaces at its Beverly, Ohio facility,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The result will be cleaner, healthier air for neighboring communities.”

 

“The extensive measures required by today’s settlement will reduce pollution and help prevent future violations of the Clean Air Act, ensuring that the citizens of Southeast Ohio have cleaner air to breathe,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This case demonstrates that the Department of Justice will work tenaciously to hold accountable companies that violate federal environmental law.”

 

“Compliance with regulations requiring upgrades to aging industrial facilities are critical when protecting health and the environment,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio. “The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency are vigilantly ensuring compliance with the Clean Air Act and other environmental laws.”

 

In addition to paying a penalty, Globe will now be required to utilize coal and other materials with a specified reduced-sulfur content to limit the generation of harmful SO2 emissions. Globe will also take significant steps to reduce emissions of PM, including construction of an additional pollution control baghouse, and implementation of physical improvements to equipment and changes to operational practices to reduce emissions of PM both from stacks and directly to the atmosphere from equipment. Globe will also be conducting extensive testing and implementing significantly enhanced monitoring of air pollutants to ensure ongoing compliance.

 

The consent decree also brings the Globe facility’s pollution control obligations up to date with environmental regulations that post-date the plant’s construction, including stricter limits on PM and carbon monoxide emissions.

 

The consent decree is subject to a 30-day comment period and final approval by the court. A copy of the consent decree is available on the Justice Department website. 

Rewilding: Letting nature take over

 EPA Press Office:

Biden-Harris Administration Proposes to Improve Air Pollution Emissions Data

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2023) – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced proposed updates to the Agency’s Air Emissions Reporting Requirements rule, including proposing to require reporting of hazardous air pollutants, or “air toxics.” Air toxics are known or suspected to cause cancer and other serious health effects. The proposed updates would ensure that EPA has readily available data to identify places where people are exposed to harmful air pollution and to develop solutions, aligning with the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to advancing environmental justice.

The proposal would revise the Air Emissions Reporting Requirements rule, which currently requires states to report emissions of common air pollutants, such as particulate matter, along with pollutants that contribute to their formation, such as ozone-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs). While most states voluntarily report some air toxics emissions data to EPA now, that reporting is not consistent nationwide.

“Data and science are the very foundation of the work we do every day at EPA to protect public health and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “When we have the most recent, most accurate data on air toxics and other emissions, we can improve our identification of areas where people may be at risk from pollution, develop solutions and help ensure everyone has clean air to breathe.”

The data EPA receives under the rule forms the basis for the National Emissions Inventory. EPA uses information in the inventory as it develops and reviews regulations, conducts air quality modeling, and conducts risk assessments to understand how air pollution may affect the health of communities across the country, including those that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution. Other federal agencies, along with state, local, and tribal air agencies also use the data and information the inventory provides.

In addition to ensuring EPA has the data critical to identifying places where people are exposed to harmful air pollution, the proposal also would provide data that communities can use to understand the significant sources of air pollution that may be affecting them – including data on highly toxic chemicals that can cause cancer and other serious health problems. Collecting air toxics data will advance President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot, which includes a goal of preventing cancers by reducing environmental exposures to cancer-causing pollution.

The proposed rule would require nearly 130,000 facilities to report air toxics emissions directly to EPA. It would also give states the option to collect the air toxics data from industry and report it to EPA, provided the Agency approves their program. In addition, the proposal includes provisions to limit burden on small businesses, such as allowing certain small businesses to report total emissions of each air toxic instead of providing more detailed information.

EPA’s proposal also would improve other emissions data in other areas, by:

• Requiring certain facilities located in Tribal nations to report emissions if Tribes do not report them.
• Increasing reporting of common pollutants known as “criteria pollutants” by using the same emissions thresholds every year.
• Adding to the information that EPA and other federal and state agencies have available to understand the impacts of prescribed fires.

EPA will hold several informational webinars to provide background on the proposed rule and provide an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. The Agency will take written comment on the proposal for 70 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The Agency also will hold a virtual public hearing 21 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.

To read the proposal or to sign up to attend a webinar, visit the website for the proposed rule. 

 EPA Press Office:

EPA Seeks Input on Expansion of the Safer Choice and Design for the Environment Programs

WASHINGTON (July 25, 2023) – Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a 45-day public comment period on a proposed expansion of its Safer Choice and potentially its Design for the Environment (DfE) programs to include certification of additional product categories beyond cleaners and disinfectants. Safer Choice and DfE are voluntary EPA programs that help consumers, businesses, and purchasers find cleaning and disinfectant products that perform and meet stringent EPA criteria for effects on human health and the environment. The Agency will hold a listening session webinar on August 29, 2023, to gather feedback on certification of additional product categories by EPA’s Safer Choice and DfE programs. 

Given the increasing consumer interest in chemicals used in products, EPA is working to expand its certification programs to include additional product categories, reflecting the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to safeguarding human health, addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and advancing environmental justice. The Agency is seeking input on which new product categories Safer Choice and DfE could expand into and how the potential expansion offers significant benefit to human health and the environment.

"Thanks to EPA’s Safer Choice and Design for the Environment programs, the marketplace has a tool to ensure consumers know if a product meets stringent EPA criteria for effects on human health and the environment," said EPA Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention Deputy Assistant Administrator for Pollution Prevention Jennie Romer. "We’re eager to engage with a variety of stakeholders on expanding the programs to additional product categories, empowering consumers to make informed choices about products they use in their daily lives."

As with cleaning products, EPA would evaluate each ingredient against a stringent set of health and environmental criteria outlined in the Safer Choice Standard. The availability of EPA certified products would help give consumers a choice of products that meet EPA’s high standard for human and environmental health and, as part of meeting these criteria, would not contain intentionally added PFAS.

EPA will hold a webinar to solicit input from stakeholders, including manufacturers and distributors, retailers, community groups and representatives from states, Tribal Nations, non-profit organizations, trade associations, and others.

• August 29, 2023, 2:00 p.m. ET: This webinar will ask for input on the types of products Safer Choice and/or DfE should certify and why. Register here for the webinar.

Upon publication of the Federal Register notice, comments should be submitted to docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2023-0311 on www.regulations.gov by September 11, 2023.

EPA will use the public input received during the webinar and in writing to guide the development and implementation of the expansion of its Safer Choice and/or DfE programs.

Safer Choice

Safer Choice incentivizes chemistry that meets EPA’s stringent criteria for human health and the environment and provides opportunities for companies to differentiate their products in the marketplace with the Safer Choice label. With thousands of certified products, the Safer Choice label is a reliable way to find products whose chemical ingredients have met EPA’s criteria for being “safer” without sacrificing performance.

Visit the Safer Choice program website for more information.

Design for the Environment (DfE)

Similar to the Safer Choice label, EPA’s Design for the Environment (DfE) logo currently helps consumers and commercial buyers identify antimicrobial products like disinfectants that meet the health and safety standards of the normal pesticide registration process required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) as well as meeting the DfE certification criteria (as described in the Safer Choice Standard). When a consumer or purchaser sees EPA’s DfE logo on a product, they can feel confident that the product performs and meets stringent EPA criteria for human health and the environment.

Visit the Design for the Environment website for more information

 EPA Press Office:

EPA Celebrates Historic Funding and Partnership as it Directs $14 Million in Grants to PA for Farmers’ Conservation Efforts, Chesapeake Bay Restoration Goals

Philadelphia (July 25, 2023) – During a visit to a Lancaster County dairy farm, EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz and U.S. Senator Bob Casey joined Pennsylvania environmental leaders, Chesapeake Bay partners, and local farmers to announce $14.3 million in grants directed to Pennsylvania through EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program.

Using funding provided by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the Most Effective Basins program will receive $23 million this year, a $15 million increase from its $8 million annual allocation. In a concerted effort to deliver these dollars to areas that will have the greatest impact on downstream water quality, 60% of this year’s funding will go directly to Pennsylvania to connect farmers with the financial resources they need to implement conservation practices that benefit farms, local streams, and the Chesapeake Bay.

"Leadership. Engagement. Partnership. Funding. When these things come together, no challenge is too big to overcome,” said Ortiz. “Once-in-a-generation investments coupled with unprecedented cooperation drives progress and delivers results. It’s the beginning of a new chapter for Chesapeake Bay restoration and each and every partner helped bring us to this moment.”

The Most Effective Basins grant program provides funds to states in river basins throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed with excess nitrogen loads.  The funds are used to install best practices such as forest buffers, manure storage, and fencing to reduce agricultural runoff from entering nearby streams.  

“The infrastructure law is not only fixing our roads and bridges; it’s providing farmers with the support they need to protect and restore the Chesapeake Bay,” said Senator Casey. “It’s a win-win: when we improve conservation practices, our farmers improve their bottom line.”

During the event, officials also highlighted new means to deliver funds to grantees more efficiently. EPA is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to direct at least $3 million of the MEB funding to a block grant that will deliver conservation funding to farmers more quickly. An additional $4 million will go to the state Department of Agriculture and State Conservation Commission to support the work of the Conservation Districts.

“Pennsylvania is proof of the enormous value of partnership in improving the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed,” said Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Rich Negrin. “DEP has long valued our partnerships with EPA Region 3, USDA-NRCS, the Chesapeake Bay Program, and our jurisdictional partners. In the past five years, we've taken this teamwork to exciting new levels. Our funding of conservation districts and local organizations helps provide the agricultural outreach, education, planning, and technical assistance needed to keep building momentum from the ground up to ensure clean water for Pennsylvania’s farmers and communities.”

More information of the Chesapeake Bay Program’s water quality goals can be found online, here: https://www.epa.gov/chesapeake-bay-tmdl/chesapeake-bay-tmdl-fact-sheet.