Columbia N.H. Sand & Gravel Facility Faces Fine for Discharging Polluted Water

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News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
March 27, 2012

Contacts: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Columbia N.H. Sand and Gravel Facility Faces Fine for Discharging Polluted Water

(Boston, Mass. – March 27, 2012) – CSG Holdings, Inc. of Columbia, N.H. faces a possible fine of up to $532,500 from EPA for allowing polluted stormwater and process water from its Columbia facility to flow into nearby waters, in violation of the Clean Water Act.  CSG Holdings is the former operator of Columbia Sand and Gravel, a mining facility on the banks of the Connecticut River.

According to allegations in the complaint, CSG Holdings discharged process waste waters and stormwater from the facility without proper permits and violated the federal Oil Pollution Prevention Regulations by failing to prepare and implement a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan. The recent complaint against CSG Holdings states that the violations were discovered by EPA’s New England office in 2010.

Stormwater monitoring by CSG Holdings confirmed that stormwater discharges from its sand and gravel mining and aggregate processing operations contain total suspended solids at levels that exceed permit benchmarks for their industrial sector.  When a facility's stormwater discharges exceed benchmark levels, the facility must review its stormwater control measures to determine if changes are necessary and make these changes as needed.

The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of process waste waters without a permit. The law also requires that industrial facilities, such as sand and gravel facilities, have controls in place to minimize pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into nearby waterways. Each site must have a stormwater pollution prevention plan that sets guidelines and best management practices that the company will follow to prevent runoff from being contaminated by pollutants. Without on-site controls, runoff from sand and gravel facilities can flow directly to the nearest waterway and can cause water quality impairments such as siltation of rivers, beach closings, fishing restrictions, and habitat degradation. As stormwater flows over these sites, it can pick up pollutants, including sediment, used oil, and other debris. Polluted process water discharges or stormwater runoff can harm or kill fish and wildlife and can affect drinking water quality.

Every year, thousands of gallons of oil are spilled from oil storage facilities, polluting New England waters. Even the effects of smaller spills add up and damage aquatic life, as well as public and private property. Spill prevention plans are critical to prevent such spills or, if they do occur, adequately address them.

In May 2011, CSG Holdings sold its Columbia, N.H. facility to another owner/operator. The new owner maintains the facility’s stormwater management system and is authorized to discharge stormwater under a general permit covering discharges from industrial facilities.


More information: Stormwater control for Industrial facilities (http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater/indust.cfm)

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News Release from EPA - Armstrong Envtl. Svc.

Armstrong Environmental Services to Pay $35,000 Penalty for Clean Water Act Violations at Lancaster, Pa. Facility 

(PHILADELPHIA – March 1, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with Armstrong Environmental Services (AES) over alleged Clean Water Act violations at the company’s waste processing and disposal facility in Lancaster, Pa. AES agreed to pay a $35,000 penalty for allegedly exceeding permit limits when discharging industrial wastewater pollutants to the City of Lancaster Wastewater Treatment Plant in Lancaster County, Pa. The settlement also requires the company take actions to minimize the likelihood of future violations.

EPA’s complaint alleged AES exceeded its pretreatment permit discharge limits for pollutants oil and grease, pH and copper for a period of five-years. As part of the settlement, AES did not admit liability for the alleged violations, but has certified that it is now in compliance with applicable Clean Water Act requirements.
 The Clean Water Act requires companies discharging pollutants to publicly owned wastewater treatment works (POTWs) to obtain a permit from the POTW limiting the amount of pollution that may be discharged to the plant. This usually requires some type of pretreatment by the discharging facility.

Pretreatment permit limits for pollutants are established in order to prevent impairment of waterways, either as a result of pollutants passing through the POTW -- or interference with the functioning of the treatment plant.

For more information about pretreatment requirements visit:

http://cfpub.epa.gov/npdes/home.cfm?program_id=3

News Release from AT&T

Samsung & AT&T Deliver Brains and Brawn

Waterproof and Dustproof Samsung Rugby® Smart Available Starting March 4

Dallas, Texas, February 23, 2012


Key Facts

On March 4, AT&T* will begin selling the Samsung Rugby® Smart in company-owned retail stores and online. The smartphone will be sold for $99.99 with a two-year commitment and monthly minimum data plan.
Samsung Rugby® Smart is dustproof, can be submerged in up to 1m of water for 30 minutes, and can withstand extreme temperatures.**
Runs on Android™ 2.3 with 4G capabilities and boasts a virtual QWERTY keyboard, 3.7-inch Super AMOLED™ touchscreen display, 5MP camera and an integrated flashlight.
Samsung Rugby® Smart

The Samsung Rugby® Smart is a rugged, dustproof device designed to handle the elements with water resistance (submergible up to 1m for 30 minutes) and built to mil-std 810f  military spec standards**.The Android 2.3 smartphone features a 3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED touchscreen display and a 5MP camera with HD video recording***. It also supports 4G service, Wi-Fi®, corporate email and the full line of media including location, music and social networking services. From the work site to the camp site and beyond, Rugby Smart fulfills all your smartphone needs with the physical strength to handle whatever life throws at it.

Specifications

Technology: GSM, EDGE, UMTS, HSPA+
Operating System:  Android 2.3
Display:  3.7-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display
External Memory: Supports up to 32GB via microSD™
Internal Memory: 4GB
Dimensions: 122.4mm x 65.9mm x 12.19mm
Weight: 4.2 oz
Camera: 5MP rear facing with flash and auto focus with HD 720p video capture; 1.3 MP front facing camera;
Battery: 1650 mAh LiIon Poly
Talk Time: Up to 8 hours
Standby Time: Up to 16 days
Quotes        

“The Samsung Rugby Smart is perfect for active customers who need another level of durability with their smartphone,” said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president, Devices, AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets.  “It is water and dustproof and has all the features of a leading smartphone.”

“We continue to bring the highest quality devices – the Rugby Smart is the ultimate smartphone to withstand extreme conditions,” said Dale Sohn, president of Samsung Mobile. “AT&T customers are now able to stay connected with a durable smartphone while experiencing even the roughest environment.”

4G speeds not available everywhere.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.


** Meets US Mil-STD 810F for Dust, Humidity, Rain, Shock and Temperature. Waterproof against incidental exposure to water when all ports are tightly closed. NOT designed or intended for in water use. Submersible up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. Waterproof based on IP67 rating.

*** Screen resolution 480x800

Limited-time offer. New two-year wireless agreement with qualifying voice and data plan required. Terms of service may vary depending on your business agreement. Wireless Service: Subject to Wireless Customer Agreement. Coverage and services not available everywhere. Credit approval required. Activation Fee up to $36/line. Geographic, usage and other terms, conditions and restrictions apply, and may result in service termination. See store or visit att.com for complete details and coverage maps. Data Requirements: See att.com/dataplans or www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/plans/data-plans/smartphone-data-plans.jsp for details and overage rates if you exceed your monthly data allowance. Access to corporate email, company intranet sites and business applications requires a DataPro Enterprise Plan Other Monthly Charges/line may include a Regulatory Cost Recovery Charge (up to $1.25), a gross receipts surcharge, federal and state universal svc charges, fees and charges for other gov’t assessments. These are not taxes or gov’t req’d charges.   Early Termination Fee (ETF): After 30 days, ETF up to $325 based on device (details att.com/ equipmentETF). Restocking fee up to $35. Taxes and other charges apply. Samsung, Super AMOLED and Rugby Smart are trademarks of Samsung Electronics

EPA Orders Corrective Action

News release from EPA:


For Immediate Release:
February 16, 2012
                                                   
EPA ORDERS MISSISSIPPI PHOSPHATES CORPORATION OF PASCAGOULA, MS TO CORRECT PROBLEMS AT THEIR FACILITY

Contact Information: Dawn Harris-Young, (404) 562-8421, harris-young.dawn@epa.gov

ATLANTA – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an Administrative Order on Consent to Mississippi Phosphates Corporation (MPC) in Pascagoula, MS that requires expedited corrective measures be taken at the facility to ensure the protection of public health and the environment.  EPA issued the order under Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which provides statutory authority to address an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health at facilities.

EPA believes that an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment exists at the facility due to corrosive water discovered by the facility outside the West Stack perimeter dike in January 2011 and September 2011. This order further directs MPC to continue to perform corrective actions that were included in a previous September 2009 Unilateral Order. The 2009 order was issued to MPC due to the EPA’s discovery of uncontrolled leaks and spills of sulfuric acid and untreated discharges from sulfuric acid plants to the adjacent bayou; and uncontrolled spills and leaks of phosphoric acid to unlined ditches at the MPC facility in August 2009.

MPC began operation in the late 1950s and was a subsidiary of Mississippi Chemical Corporation (MCC) from the early 1990’s through 2004. On May 15, 2003, MCC filed for bankruptcy and MPC was acquired by creditors. On December 21, 2004, MPC emerged from bankruptcy and is now owned by Phosphate Holdings, Inc, a publicly traded corporation. MPC manufactures sulfuric acid and phosphoric acid at the site and produces diammonium phosphate (DAP), a phosphate-based fertilizer.

Some of the work required of MPC in the 7003 Order includes: the submission of a revised plan to repair and replace degraded containment around sulfuric acid plants (SAPs); the continued implementation of the groundwater investigative and remediation work plan for the SAPs, DAP plant and construction area southwest of SAPs; daily visual assessment of seepage from west stack perimeter dike; and the submission of a west gypsum stack system improvement plan. As MPC addresses the requirements of this order, the EPA and Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality will continue to work jointly to oversee MPC's compliance with environmental laws, regulations and permits.

EPA Orders Louisiana Poultry Farms to Stop Discharging

News release from EPA Region 6:

EPA Orders Louisiana Poultry Farms to Stop Discharging

(DALLAS – February 10, 2012) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued cease and desist administrative orders to two chicken broiler facilities in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, for discharging chicken litter into a tributary of the Dugdemona River.

The Mike Reeves 1 and Beaver Creek Farm chicken broiler facilities are concentrated animal feeding operations located approximately four miles east of Arcadia on the south side of U.S. Highway 80, Lincoln Parish. The broiler facilities have been ordered to immediately stop all discharges of pollutants into waters of the United States.

“We expect poultry farms to put food on our tables, not waste into our rivers,” said EPA Regional Administrator Al Armendariz. “Owners and operators of animal feeding operations have a responsibility to comply with the law.”

On January 24 and 25, 2012, the EPA inspected the facilities and found unauthorized discharges of pollutants from chicken litter storage piles to an unnamed tributary of the Dugdemona River.

As a result of the inspection, the owners and operators of the Mike Reeves 1 and Beaver Creek Farm chicken broiler facilities have been ordered to immediately take action to stop all discharges of pollutants from their facilities’ chicken litter storage piles. Within 30 days they must submit to EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) a certified summary, including photographs, that document the unauthorized discharges have been stopped.

More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region6.html

EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/feb2012.html

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Union Pacific to Pay $1.5 Million for Clean Water Act Violations

News release from EPA Region 8:

Union Pacific Railroad Company to pay $1.5 million for Clean Water Act violations in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming

Company cited for oil and coal spills, inadequate prevention and planning
Contact Information: Donna Inman (303) 312-6201; Matthew Allen, (303) 312-6085
(Denver, Colo—February 9th, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with Union Pacific Railroad Company regarding alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act.

This settlement resolves a Clean Water Act enforcement action against Union Pacific that involves continuing operations at 20 rail yards in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, as well as spills of oil and coal in 2003 and 2004 along railroad lines in all three states.

For the railyards, EPA alleges Union Pacific violated EPA’s Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) and Facility Response Plan (FRP) regulations. These regulations are the first line of defense for preventing oil spills and providing immediate containment measures when an oil spill does occur.

“Today we have secured a settlement that will help prevent spills, protect water quality, and improve the safety of Union Pacific’s operations in 20 communities across Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming,” said Jim Martin, EPA regional administrator. “Union Pacific has already begun putting necessary measures in place and we will ensure they continue to do so.”

As part of the settlement, Union Pacific will pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million of which approximately $1.4 million will be deposited into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a fund used by federal agencies to respond to oil spills. The remaining $100,000 will be deposited in the U.S. Treasury for the coal spills and stormwater violations. In addition, the settlement requires the company to develop a management and reporting system to ensure compliance with SPCC regulations, FRP regulations, and storm water requirements at 20 rail yards in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. Union Pacific must take further actions to control stormwater runoff at the Burnham Rail Yard in Denver, which are anticipated to prevent the discharge of approximately 2,500 pounds of chemical oxygen demand, 50 pounds of nitrate, 11,000 pounds of total suspended solids, and 30 pounds of zinc annually to waters in the Denver area.

This settlement will benefit many communities in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, many of which are disadvantaged, by requiring Union Pacific to install secondary containment to safely store oil and prevent oil spills from leaving its properties. Further, it will require the company to designate an environmental vice-president responsible for complying with oil spill prevention and stormwater control requirements at the 20 railyards. The majority of the 20 locations cited in the settlement are in disadvantaged areas with significant low-income and/ or minority populations.

The complaint alleges the following violations:

• ·         Six oil spills in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming
• ·         Three coal spills in Colorado
• ·         Inadequate SPCC plans and/or inadequate SPCC plan implementation (e.g., inadequate secondary containment) at the following 20 rail yards:
  • o   Denver 36^th Street, Burnham, Denver North, East Portal Moffatt Tunnel, Grand Junction, Kremmling, Pueblo, and Rifle, all in Colorado
  • o   Helper, Ogden, Provo, Roper, Salt Lake City North, and Summit, all in Utah
    • §  Also for six rail yards in Utah, failure to provide certifications and reports for storm water pollution prevention plans (SWPPPs) as required by the Utah Multi-Sector General Permit.
• o   Bill, Buford, Cheyenne, Green River, Laramie, and Rawlins, all in Wyoming
  • §  Also for the Rawlins, Wyoming rail yard, an inadequate FRP and a failed Government Initiated Unannounced Exercise

For more information on the Clean Water Act, visit EPA's compliance web page: http://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/cwa/index.html

For more information on Environmental Justice within EPA Region 8 please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region8/ej/index.html

Help EPA protect our nation's land, air and water by reporting violations: http://www.epa.gov/tips/

Settlement to Require Eaton Corporation to Address TCE Contamination

News Release from EPA Region 7

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7 901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101 Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations Settlement to Require Eaton Corporation to Address TCE Contamination at Vehicle Group Plant in Kearney, Neb. Contact Information: Dave Bryan, 913-551-7433, bryan.david@epa.gov Environmental News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Kansas City, Kan., Jan. 12, 2012) - EPA Region 7 and the Eaton Corporation have reached a settlement through which the company has agreed to conduct certain activities to address trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination in groundwater at its Vehicle Group Plant and surrounding areas in Kearney, Neb. Eaton Corporation has owned the 57-acre site at 4200 Highway 30 East, in Kearney, since 1969. TCE was used as a degreasing agent in the manufacture of automotive and heavy-duty engine valves and gears at the site. TCE is a colorless liquid which is most commonly used as a solvent for cleaning metal parts. TCE is a known human carcinogen that has been found in concentrations in groundwater at and near the site that exceed the drinking water standard. According to an administrative order on consent, placed on public notice today by EPA in Kansas City, Kan., TCE contamination in groundwater at the Eaton Corporation Vehicle Group Plant site in Kearney was first detected in 1986, the result of an apparent leak from underground storage tank lines. Since that time, the company has installed and modified a series of systems to extract TCE from groundwater at the site, and monitoring wells to track its movement underground. Currently, Eaton Corporation operates two groundwater extraction systems – one on-site, another off-site – in an effort to contain the underground TCE plume. Contamination from the site has in the past impacted private drinking water supplies. EPA’s administrative order on consent requires Eaton to operate and maintain on-site and off-site groundwater extraction systems to contain and reduce TCE contamination in the groundwater at and coming from the site. Operation of the extraction systems will continue as long as needed to prevent significant contaminant plume migration. The order also would require Eaton Corporation to conduct a review of the remedy’s performance after five years, submit a remedy completion report to EPA, and maintain a series of institutional controls at the site. The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period. EPA will consider all comments received, and may modify or withdraw its consent to the settlement if comments disclose facts or considerations indicating the settlement is inappropriate, improper or inadequate. As provided by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, commenters may also request a public meeting to be held in the affected area. Copies of the proposed order will be available for public inspection at the Kearney Public Library, 2020 1st Avenue, Kearney, Neb., 68847, and at the EPA Region 7 Records Center, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kan., 66101. A copy of the proposed settlement may also be obtained from the Regional Docket Clerk, EPA Region 7, 901 North 5th Street, Kansas City, Kan., 66101. Persons submitting comments should reference EPA Docket Number RCRA-07-2011-0024. # # #

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Interview w/ Dick Heckman on Domestic Energy

Last night, CNBC's Jim Cramer had a very interesting interview with Dick Heckman, founder of Heckman Corporation.  Heckman Corp. disposes of or recycles the wastewater from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, operations.

Mr. Heckman is very bullish on domestic energy.  I loved this interview.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000062303