Enforcement Action Summary FY 2005 - July

July 4, 2005

Region 5 Signs CAA Section 112(r) Consent Agreement with Hondo Incorporated d/b/a Coca-Cola Bottling of Wisconsin - Region 5 initiated this enforcement action in November 2004. On June 30, 2005, Region 5 signed a Consent Agreement and Final Order with Hondo Incorporated d/b/a Coca-Cola Bottling of Wisconsin (“Hondo”), to settle violations of CAA Section 112(r). CAA Section 112(r) required EPA to promulgate regulations to prevent accidental releases of regulated substances and reduce the severity of those releases that do occur. EPA therefore promulgated 40 CFR Part 68. The settlement related to the failure of Hondo to file and implement a Risk Management Plan (“RMP”) in accordance with CAA Section 112(r) and 40 CFR Part 68. The Complaint alleged that Hondo owns and operates a process which held an amount of anhydrous ammonia greater than the relevant threshold quantity of 10,000 lbs for several years. Because Hondo had this amount present, it was required to submit an RMP no later than June 21, 1999. Hondo failed to do so and EPA proposed a penalty of $121,137. As a result of settlement discussions, U.S. EPA determined that it was appropriate to mitigate that penalty of $121,137 to $85,000. Under the terms of the Consent Agreement, Hondo will pay a penalty of $85,000.

Contact: Catherine Garypie, Associate Regional Counsel 312/886-5825; Mark Palermo, Associate Regional Counsel 312/886-6082; Bob Mayhugh, Compliance Officer, 312/886-5929

Region 5 files a Consent Agreement and Final Order to commence and conclude case against Kikkoman Foods, Inc., Walworth, Wisconsin. On June 30, 2005, Region 5 filed a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) commencing and resolving simultaneously an administrative penalty action against Kikkoman Foods, Inc., for violations of the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan, specifically Wisconsin Administrative Code Chapters NR 406, NR 407, and NR 424. The CAFO requires Kikkoman to pay a penalty of $110,670. On November 8, 2004, U.S. EPA issued a Notice of Violation to Kikkoman identifying alleged violations of the requirements to (1) obtain a construction permit prior to constructing a stationary source of air pollution, (2) apply for and obtain an operation permit prior to operating a source of air pollution, and (3) control volatile organic compound emissions from a process line by at least 85%. All the alleged violations related to the construction and operation of a spray dryer constructed in late 2000 and operated beginning October 8, 2001. As part of the settlement, Kikkoman signed an Administrative Consent Order (AO) which will require Kikkoman to install a thermal oxidizer to control 95% of VOC emissions. The AO was issued on June 29, 2004. In the settlement negotiations, Kikkoman agreed to pay the penalty of $110,670 proposed by U.S. EPA, which included a 30% reduction for Kikkoman’s cooperation.

Contact: Mony Chabria, (312) 886-6842

Region 5 signs Consent Agreement and Final Order with Sun Chemical Corporation
Region 5 filed an Administrative Complaint under Section under Section 3008(a) of the Resource Conservation and Recover Act against Sun Chemical Corporation of Northlake, Illinois, on September 30, 2004 (Docket Number RCRA-05-2004-0023). In the Complaint, Region 5 alleged that Sun Chemical failed to comply with a number of the conditions for an exemption from a permit in Subpart I of 35 IAC § 725 [Subpart I of 40 C.F.R. Part 265]. The Complaint sought a $227,590 penalty for these violations. The CAFO, signed by the Director of the Waste Pesticides and Toxics Division on June 24, 2005, resolves these violations by requiring Sun Chemical to pay a $42,723 penalty and to complete a SEP. The SEP requires Sun Chemical to replace an existing solvent washing system with an aqueous tub washer process at its facility in St. Charles, Illinois. The cost to Sun of installing and operating this system for five years is $209,526. This pollution prevention/pollution reduction SEP will reduce VOC emissions by 25,000 pounds per year, and will result in the elimination of 208 to 312 55-gallon drums of hazardous waste each year. (Contact: Susan Prout, (312) 353-1029).

July 11, 2005

EPA settles Sloan Valve Company (EPCRA-05-2005-0019) for EPCRA reporting matter. On June 21, 2005, EPA issued a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) under EPCRA Section 325 resolving claims for civil penalties for violations of EPCRA Section 313 reporting requirements self-disclosed by Sloan Valve Company with respect to its facility located at 10500 Seymour Avenue, Franklin Park, Illinois. The CAFO simultaneously commences and concludes EPA=s action for EPCRA Section 313 violations regarding the Form R reporting of copper for calendar year 1999 through 2001; lead for calendar years 1999 and 2000; nitric acid for calendar years 1999 through 2002; nitrate compounds for calendar year 1999; chromium compounds for calendar years 2001 and 2002; and nitrate for calendar years 2001 and 2002. EPA calculated a gravity based proposed penalty of $305,800; but determined that a 75 percent reduction was appropriate pursuant to the Agency=s Self-Disclosure Policy, and that there was no economic benefit associated with the alleged violations. EPA determined that Respondent had satisfied eight of the nine Self-Disclosure Policy criteria. Only the systematic discovery criterion was not determined to be satisfied. The CAFO assesses a penalty of $ 76,450. Respondent has returned to compliance and has corrected errors in previously submitted forms. Respondent self-disclosed its violations on June 20, 2003, provided follow-up information on January 28, 2004, June 22, 2004, and September 16, 2004; and submitted corrected forms on May 23, 2005.

Contact: Maria Gonzalez, primary contact, 312-886-6630.

United States Files Complaint Against Licking County, Ohio and Simultaneously Lodges Consent Decree in Southern District of Ohio Resolving Clean Water Act Violations.
On July 5, 2005, the United States filed a complaint against Licking County and simultaneously lodged a consent decree resolving violations of the Clean Water Act, Civil Action No. C2-05- 661 (S.D. Ohio). The consent decree resolves numerous violations of the terms of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the Buckeye Lake waste water treatment plant (WWTP) and a December 12, 1994 administrative order issued by U.S. EPA. Violations include exceeding effluent limitations, bypassing or overflowing untreated wastewater, and violating the monitoring, testing and sludge management requirements of the NPDES permit. In addition, Licking County violated the sludge standards at 40 C.F.R. Part 503. The consent decree requires Licking County to pay a civil penalty of $37,500 to the United States and $37,500 to the State of Ohio. The State of Ohio is identified as a realigned plaintiff in the consent decree.

To resolve the violations identified in the complaint, Licking County installed storage basins to provide additional storage capability and reduce bypasses while a permanent solution is develope. In addition, Licking County conducted an infiltration/inflow (I/I) study and has removed the largest sources of I/I identified in the study. Licking County has also developed a corrective action plan, and will remove additional I/I sources from the sewer system, construct capital improvements and develop a preventive maintenance program. Capital improvements will include construction of the wet stream and sludge handling facilities necessary to effectively increase the rated capacity of the WWTP so that all flows reaching the headworks will receive full treatment. Improvements may include, but arenot limited to, the construction of a new biological reactor, new final clarifiers, additional sludge digestion and storage facilities and associated electrical and site improvements. The consent decree requires these improvements to be fully operational by December 1, 2007.

Primary Contact: Christine Liszewski, 312/886-4670; additional contact: Bettye Carter, 312/886-6705

Region 5 Signs a Consent Agreement and Final Order with Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, LLC. On June 29, 2005, Region 5 and Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, LLC (CSN) entered into a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) settling an action for Clean Air Act violations before the filing of a complaint, Docket No. CAA-05-2005-0032. The alleged violations occurred at a steel pickling facility owned and operated by CSN in Terre Haute, Indiana. The CAFO requires CSN to pay a penalty of $15,793 and perform a SEP for which CSN will spend at least $34,273 for violations of the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Steel Pickling-HCL Process Facilities and Hydrochloric Acid Regeneration Plants at 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart CCC. More specifically, CSN discharged gases containing hydrochloric acid into the atmosphere from a pickle line at the facility in violation of the emission standards at 40 C.F.R. ' 63.1158(a)(1) from approximately March 6, 2003 through May 14, 2003. The SEP requires CSN to purchase one (1) Thermal Imaging Camera and up to six (6) Panasonic Tough Book 29 Laptop Computers and donate them to the local fire department. This equipment will allow the fire department to better respond to accidents involving hazardous materials and thus to protect the environment or ecosystems which could be damaged by an accident.

Contact: Christine Liszewski, primary contact 312/886-4670; Morgan Jencius, additional contact 312/886-2407

U.S. EPA issues responses to four petitions to object to Title V operating permits proposed for Midwest Generation coal-fired utilities. On October 10, 2003, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) proposed to issue Clean Air Act Title V operating permits to various Midwest Generation coal-fired utilities. Despite making comments on them, Region 5 did not object to the proposed permits. On January 22, 2004, U.S. EPA received petitions requesting that we object to the proposed permits for the Fisk and Crawford Midwest Generation stations, and on January 26, 2004, we received petitions requesting that we object to the Joliet and Romeoville Midwest Generation proposed permits. The petitioners raised numerous issues which, they alleged, resulted in IEPA proposing permits that do not comply with the Clean Air Act and 40 C.F.R. part 70. The Administrator signed responses to the Fisk and Crawford petitions on March 25, 2005, and to the Joliet and Romeoville petitions on June 24, 2005. In all four responses, the Administrator granted the petitions in part and denied them in part. IEPA has 90 days to re-propose permits that comply with the requirements of the Clean Air Act and 40 C.F.R. part 70, as set out in the petition responses.

Primary Contacts: Jane Woolums, Office of Regional Counsel (312-886-6720) and Genevieve Damico, Air and Radiation Division (312-353-4761).

July 18, 2005

Ypsilanti Landlord charged with discharging sewage and endangering children. David Kircher was an owner or operator of Eastern Highland Apartments in Ypsilanti, Michigan. On July 12, 2005, the State of Michigan filed a two-count felony complaint in the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court of Michigan alleging that (a) Kircher knowingly discharged a substance in violation of Michigan’s Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Action Act; and (b) in doing so, he posed a substantial endangerment to public health, safety or welfare, violating MCL 324.3109 and MCL 324.3115(4).

The complaint alleged that betwen October 12-14, 2004, Kircher knowingly discharged 25,000 to 100,000 gallons of untreated sewage from Eastern Highland Apartments to the Huron River. The complaint also alleged that these discharges exposed various persons to the untreated sewage, including two children who ingested that sewage and were thereby placed in danger of death or serious bodily injury. If convicted of all counts, Kircher faces imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of at least $1,000,000.

Primary contact: Kris Vezner, Criminal Counsel, (312) 886-6827.

Property Owner Sentenced for Illegal Asbestos Removal; United States v. Michael A. Pace.
On July 15, 2005, Michael A. Pace was sentenced for illegally removing asbestos. Mr. Pace was sentenced to three years of probation, the first six months of which will be served as home confinement. In addition, Mr. Pace was ordered to pay a fine of $2,000.

Mr. Pace owned several storage buildings in Akron, Ohio. The information charged that from November 2003 through February 2004, Mr. Pace directed other individuals to remove and dispose of more than 160 square feet of friable asbestos. The removal was done contrary to the asbestos abatement regulations.

This case was investigated, in a joint investigation, by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Akron Regional Air Quality Management District, and U.S. EPA CID, all members of the Northeast Ohio Environmental Crimes Task Force.

Contact: Brad Beeson, Criminal Counsel (440) 250-1761

U.S. EPA issues PSD and Title V permits to Great Lakes Gas Transmission. On June 30, 2005, Region 5 issued to Great Lakes Gas Transmission L.P. a Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) construction permit and a federal Title V operating permit. These permits authorize the company to construct and operate Compressor Station No. 5, one of five Great Lakes compressor stations in Minnesota. Station No. 5 is located in Cloquet, Minnesota, on privately-owned fee land within the exterior boundaries of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indian Reservation. Because U.S. EPA did not receive any comments on the draft PSD or Title V permits during the public comment period, both permits became effective immediately upon issuance.

Primary contacts: Jane Woolums, Office of Regional Counsel (312) 886-6720 and Ethan Chatfield, Air and Radiation Division (312) 886-5112.

July 25, 2005

On April 19, 2004, Region 5 issued an Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) against two potentially repsonslible parties (PRPs) at the Masterwear Superfund Site in Martinsville, Indiana.  The UAO required, among other things, removal of perchloroethylene from soil at the Site. At one time, the Site housed a dry cleaning business (Masterwear Corp.). The Ohio Casualty Insurance Company (Ohio Casualty) is the transferee of certain liabilities and related assets of Great American Insurance, including liabilities of policies issued by American Alliance Insurance Company to one PRP, James Reed (d/b/a Masterwear Corp.). The OCIC had agreed to, and continues to, fund the removal activities required by the UAO on behalf of James Reed. On December 13, 2004, OCIC filed in the U.S. District Court for Southern Indiana, Indianapolis Division (Case No.: 1:04-cv-2027-DFH-WTL), a complaint for interpleader and declaratory judgment, naming USEPA as one of the many defendants. OCIC filed its complaint for interpleader and declaratory judgment limiting its liability because of suits filed against James Reed. USDOJ, on behalf of USEPA, filed six motions to dismiss OCIC’s claims and cross-claims by other defendant insurance companies against USEPA on sovereign immunity grounds. On July 20, 2005, Judge David F. Hamilton granted the motions to dismiss. The U.S. EPA’s CERCLA enforcement action against the PRPs, United States v. Masterwear Corp., et al., No. 1:05-cv-0373-JDT-WTL, is pending.

Contact: Mark Koller, Assistant Regional Counsel, (312) 353-2591; Kenneth Theisen, On-Scene Coordinator (312) 886-1659.

Region 5 Files a Combined Complaint and Consent Agreement with Aceto Agricultural Chemicals Corp. Region 5 initiated prefiling discussions on this matter in May, 2005.  The proposed penalty was $13,000. On July 22, 2005 Region 5 filed a combined complaint and consent agreement with the Respondent to settle violations of Section 12(a)(1)(E) and12(a)(2)(N) of FIFRA. Specifically, the Respondent distributed or sold a misbranded pesticide because the Respondent failed to affix a pesticide label on its import shipment of the pesticide. Additionally, the Respondent filed a false and inaccurate Notice of Arrival for the import shipment. Respondent has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $13,000.

Contact: Nidhi O’Meara, primary contact (312) 886-0568; Joseph Lukascyk, additional contact (312) 886-6233.

Region 5 Files a Combined Complaint and Consent Agreement with Biolab, Inc.
Region 5 initiated prefiling discussions on this matter in April, 2005. The proposed penalty was $29,600. On July 22, 2005 Region 5 filed a combined complaint and consent agreement with the Respondent to settle violations of Section 12(a)(1)(A) of FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. § 136j(a)(1)(A). Specifically, the Respondent distributed or sold six unregistered pesticide products that did not comply with Section 17 of FIFRA because (a) the labels did bear the EPA establishment number (b) the labels did not contain the words “Not Registered for Use in the United States of America” (c) and prior to export, the Respondent did not transmit a Foreign Purchaser Agreement to an official of the receiving country. During settlement discussions, the Respondent agreed to pay a civil penalty of $23,680. This number reflects an adjustment based Respondent’s willingness to work cooperatively in an expeditious manner.

Contact: Nidhi O’Meara, primary contact 312/886-0568; Terry Bonance, additional contact (312) 886-3387.

Region resolves EPCRA 312 case against Kerry, Inc. (Beloit WI). On July 12, 2005, the Acting Regional Administrator signed a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) in which Kerry Inc. (Kerry) agreed to pay a penalty of $40,221 for violations of Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-know Act of 1986 at its Beloit, Wisconsin, facility. Specifically, Region 5 alleged that, for calendar year 2002, Kerry failed to timely submit to the Wisconsin State Emergency Response Commission, the Rock County Local Emergency Planning Committee, and the Beloit Fire Department a completed emergency and hazardous chemical inventory form for the approximately 7,000 pounds of ammonia that Kerry had on-site at its Beloit, Wisconsin, facility during calendar year 2002. The parties agreed that settling the matter, without further litigation, was in the public interest. The CAFO became effective on July 13, 2005.

Ann Coyle, primary contact, 312-886-2248; Ruth McNamara, secondary contact, 312-353-3193.

Environmental Disposal Systems, Inc. files appeal of permit for natural gas storage cavern expansion by Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, L.L.C.  On June 6, 2005, U.S. EPA Region 5 issued a Class III Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit to Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals, L.L.C. (SPMT). This permit is required for the expansion of SPMT’s underground gas storage caverns, which the company plans to enlarge through the underground injection of large amounts of fresh water. On July 5, 2005, Environmental Disposal Systems, Inc. (EDS), filed an appeal petition with the Environmental Appeals Board asking the Board to review the permitting decision. EDS owns a hazardous waste disposal injection well near SPMT’s gas storage caverns, but does not yet have all the regulatory approvals required to operate the well. In the appeal petition, EDS alleged that there should have been a public hearing to discuss SPMT’s permit, and that expansion of the existing storage cavern structure may not be protective of underground sources of drinking water. In a separate UIC permit appeal process that began in 2004, SPMT appealed Class I UIC permits issued to EDS for its waste disposal injection well.

Primary contacts: Matthew Oakes, DOJ, Appellate Defense (202-514-2686), Mary McAuliffe, Office of Regional Counsel (312-886-6720), Jeffrey Herrema, Office of General Counsel (202-564-7388).