UIC-09-2024-0074: Proposed Settlement of Safe Drinking Water Act Underground Injection Control Administrative Penalty; Sunrise Power Company LLC, Fellows, CA

Proposed administrative penalty settlement with Sunrise Power Company, LLC for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA alleges the Respondent failed to maintain mechanical integrity of the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class I well known as WW3 and injected wastewater in a manner that was not authorized by its permit.

In the Matter of Sunrise Power Company, LLC; UIC-09-2024-0074

Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2)-(3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Consent Agreement to simultaneously commence and conclude this SDWA civil administrative proceeding. The Respondent operates the Sunrise Power Plant in Fellows, CA. Respondent disposes of non-hazardous power plant wastewater into the Upper Tulare Formation via six permitted Class I UIC wells. Injections are subject to the conditions in EPA UIC Permit No. CA102002.

The Consent Agreement requires Respondent to pay the United States a penalty of fifty-seven thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight ($57,788) dollars. Payment of this penalty will resolve the EPA’s allegations that Respondent violated the terms of their permit by failing to maintain mechanical integrity of WW3 and injecting outside of the formation specifically authorized by the permit.

Complainant: Amy C. Miller-Bowen, Director, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Respondent and Facility: Sunrise Power Company, LLC, 12857 Sunrise Power Road, Fellows, CA 93224.

Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Respondent operates a 635-megawatt combined-cycle, natural gas power generation facility. The facility is authorized by UIC permit to dispose of non-hazardous wastewater through underground injection.

Summary of Alleged Violations: EPA alleges that Respondent violated the UIC regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act by failing to maintain mechanical integrity at one of its Class I UIC wells and for injecting wastewater in a manner not authorized by its permit.

Proposed Penalty: $55,788

• Consent Agreement and Final Order In the Matter of Sunrise Power LLC. Docket No. UIC-09-2024-0074 (pdf) (221.23 KB, June 24, 2024)
  Proposed administrative penalty settlement with Sunrise Power Company, LLC for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Docket No. UIC-09-2024-0074