Public Notice: Proposed Settlement of Clean Water Act Class II Administrative Penalty: New Activity Shipping Inc.
Summary
EPA is providing public notice of a proposed civil administrative penalty settlement with New Activity Shipping Inc. (Respondent) for violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) from its New Activity tanker vessel. EPA alleges the Respondent discharged pollutants into waters of the United States in violation of the CWA and violated permit conditions of the NPDES General Permit for Discharges Incidental to the Normal Operation of a Vessel, EPA-HQ-OW-2011-0411 (Vessel General Permit or VGP).
In accordance with Section 309(g) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g), and the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Final Order, between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX (EPA), and New Activity Shipping Inc to resolve the following civil administrative penalty proceeding under Section 309(g) of the CWA.
The Respondent a privately-owned company headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, that operates the New Activity vessel within waters of the United States, designated by International Maritime Organization (IMO) number 9361524. CWA Section 301(a), 33 U.S.C. §1311(a), makes it unlawful for a person to discharge pollutants from a point source into waters of the United States, except as authorized by an NPDES permit issued pursuant to CWA Section 402, 33 U.S.C. § 1342.
The proposed Consent Agreement requires Respondent to pay the United States a penalty of ninety thousand dollars ($90,000). Payment of this penalty will resolve Respondent’s penalty liability for the specified violations of the CWA.
In the Matter of New Activity Shipping Inc; CWA-09-2026-0041
Complainant: Amy C. Miller-Bowen, Director, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.
Respondent: New Activity Shipping Inc., Monrovia, Liberia
Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Respondent operates the New Activity vessel within waters of the United States.
Summary of Alleged Violations: EPA alleges the Respondent discharged pollutants into waters of the United States in violation of the CWA and violated permit conditions of the Vessel General Permit (VGP). Alleged violations include untreated ballast water discharges, failure to complete all required biological indicator monitoring, failure to submit accurate annual reports, failure to conduct annual calibrations of the BWTS’s sensors and equipment, and failure to conduct all functionality monitoring and biocide residuals sampling.
Proposed Penalty: $90,000