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Clean Land Enforcement Accomplishments, Fiscal Year 2004
| Enforcements Accomplishments 2004 Quick Finder | |||
U.S. settles with United Airlines to resolve hazardous waste violations
United Airlines agreed
to an $850,000 civil penalty to resolve its violations
of state and federal hazardous waste laws at its
San Francisco Airport facility. United also agreed
to develop an environmental compliance management
system (ECMS) at an estimated cost of $500,000.
The facility, United’s only aircraft maintenance
center in the U.S., employs 5,200 people and operates
24 hours a day, seven days a week. As part of the
settlement, United worked with EPA to develop an
ECMS and agreed to an independent audit at the
facility to reduce environmental impacts of its
facility operations. Violations included failure
to close hazardous waste containers, improper labeling
of hazardous waste containers, and storage of hazardous
waste for longer than the allowable limits. For
more information on Environmental Management Systems,
go to
www.epa.gov/ebtpages/environmentalmanagement.html
UC completes hazardous waste self-audits on all nine campuses
The University of California has completed hazardous waste and emergency planning and preparedness requirement audits of approximately 47 facilities including its nine campuses spending an estimated $1.8 million to complete the project. Comprehensive audit results were submitted to EPA and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) in an effort to identify and correct thousands of violations in the UC System. Early in the project, EPA coordinated with the local agencies to share information. EPA worked with the University of California (UC) and DTSC in coordinating this innovative project and ensuring that measures are in place to prevent future hazardous waste management problems. Greater overall compliance has resulted from these self-audits than would have been possible through traditional inspections.
EPA fines 30 California companies for failing to file hazardous waste reports
More than 36 million
pounds of hazardous waste were reported to EPA
in 2004 as a result of an innovative approach – the
nation’s first expedited settlement involving
biennial reports. The federal Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act requires large quantity hazardous
waste generators to file a report with the EPA
every other year. After discovering that numerous
facilities had failed to file their biennial report,
EPA’s Pacific Southwest Regional Office streamlined
the settlement process in order to increase compliance.
EPA fined 30 California companies a total of $66,000
for not complying.
For more information on biennial reports, go to: http://www.epa.gov/region09/enforcement/hazwaste.html
Settlement reached for groundwater contamination cleanup of Newmark Superfund Site
EPA reached a $78.5 million settlement with the city of San Bernardino, Calif., the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the U.S. Army for cleanup of the city’s water supply, which is contaminated by the Newmark Superfund Site. The city will receive $69 million, DTSC $3 million and EPA $6.5 million. The settlement resolves claims against the Army for alleged groundwater contamination from Army operations in the area during World War II, and provides funds for the cleanup. More than 25% of the water supply for San Bernardino’s 175,000 residents has been contaminated by volatile organic compounds such as solvents. Under the settlement, the city of San Bernardino will operate the Newmark site’s groundwater treatment system to provide clean replacement water and prevent the contamination from spreading.
EPA, DOJ reach $44 million settlement for portion of San Gabriel Valley cleanup
EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with 38 parties for a $44.1 million cleanup of a 10-square mile plume of polluted groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County. The San Gabriel Basin aquifer underlies most of the valley and is the primary water source for most of the Basin’s roughly one million residents. Contamination in the valley has severely affected numerous public water supply wells, forcing water purveyors to shut them down or build new treatment systems. The settlement, which addresses one portion of the Basin, the El Monte unit, requires the 38 parties to build and operate treatment systems to address the contamination and requires the parties to pay EPA $2 million for its past costs, in addition to all future oversight costs. Businesses owned or operated by the settling parties had used volatile organic compounds for degreasing, metal cleaning and other purposes. These contaminants, dumped or leaked into the soil, migrated downward and polluted the aquifer.
EPA reaches settlement with San Bernardino County explosives site
EPA reached a settlement with the current owners of the Denova Environmental Inc., an abandoned hazardous waste and explosives storage facility in Rialto, Calif., and Target Corp., the prospective purchaser of a portion of the site, under which the parties are reimbursing EPA for more than $600,000 in emergency response costs, and paying for an additional $1 million worth of environmental investigation and cleanup. The former owner/operator, Denova, was a hazardous waste facility that stored a large volume of chemicals and explosives. EPA cleaned up and removed most of the abandoned waste after the state of California revoked the facility’s hazardous waste permit. As part of the settlement, Target Corp., which had no prior connection to the site and no liability for the contamination, is acquiring a portion of the property to develop a 3.3 million square foot distribution center.