Making Science Green™

Release date: 01/05/2011

(New York, N.Y.) Drew University has agreed to pay $145,000 to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for failing to properly manage hazardous waste at its Madison, N.J. campus. In 2007, the university had self-reported violations to EPA and corrected the violations.

“EPA’s self-audit policy is intended to help institutions recognize violations of federal environmental laws and take action to correct them,” said EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck. “We expect institutions that conduct their own audits to maintain compliance with the regulations. Drew’s failure to do so is not consistent with this policy.” During its 2009 investigation, EPA discovered that Drew University had:

• • Haphazardly stored dozens of containers of paint, wood stains, enamels and adhesives in a manner that failed to minimize releases to the environment. These containers were being stored outside and on the ground, some of which were in close proximity to residential housing and a pond. Many containers were open and could have easily spilled their contents or leaked into the ground.
  • Failed to properly identify discarded materials such as mercury, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, formic acid, and nitric acid as hazardous wastes.
  • Stored hazardous waste without a permit authorizing and regulating such storage.

After EPA issued a complaint to Drew, the university agreed to pay a $145,000 fine for the violations, and comply with applicable federal and state laws and regulations governing the management of hazardous waste. For more information on how EPA regulates hazardous waste, visit www.epa.gov/region02/waste/csummary.htm. Follow EPA Region 2 on Twitter at twitter.com/eparegion2 and visit our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/eparegion2

Contact Information: John Senn, (212) 637-3667, senn.john@epa.gov John Martin, (212) 637-3662, martin.johnj@epa.gov

http://www.epa-echo.gov/echo/ancr/us/

Check out the 2009 EPA Clean Water Act Trends Map and Annual Noncompliance Report

This interactive site provides basic information about Clean Water Act direct dischargers, such as:

• number of permits issued
• how frequently sampling data is reviewed to determine if violations occurred
• frequency of violations
• frequency of formal enforcement actions.

You can choose to view information about major (larger) facilities or non-major (smaller) facilities and choose a map theme using the “Select Data to Map” menu. Mousing (or hovering) over a state gives statistics to the right of the map. Clicking on the state will bring you to a map and more detailed state information. Read more…

Release date: 03/09/2011

(Boston, Mass. – Mar. 9, 2011) – Oxford Aviation, Inc., of Oxford Maine , a company that refurbishes and refinishes airplanes, has resolved a case involving EPA allegations that the company violated hazardous waste requirements.

Following a Sept. 2009 EPA inspection of the Oxford facility, EPA alleged that Oxford violated the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act by failing to adequately determine the contents of hazardous waste containers. In addition, according to EPA, Oxford failed to perform various requirements, including conducting a hazardous waste determination of its wastes from its chemical conversion coating operation; adequately training employees with hazardous waste management responsibilities; conducting and documenting daily inspections of hazardous waste containers; and properly labeling and managing containers of hazardous waste.

Oxford was very responsive to EPA’s requirements once the issues were raised with them. The company has certified to EPA that it is now in compliance with the federal hazardous waste law and has agreed to the payment of a $5,000 penalty. Additionally, as a result of the enforcement action, Oxford has voluntarily eliminated at least two hazardous waste streams from its processes, including chromium (a heavy metal) and methyline chloride (a chemical solvent).

More information: Enforcing hazardous waste requirements in New England http://www.epa.gov/region1/enforcement/waste/index.html

Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Follow EPA New England on Twitter: http://twitter.com/epanewengland

Release date: 07/27/2009

(Atlanta, Ga. – July 27, 2009) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a case involving alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) against YKK (USA), Inc. (YKK), a zipper manufacturer with facilities in Macon, Ga. In accordance with the Consent Agreement and Final Order (CA/FO) filed July 22, 2009, YKK has agreed to pay a penalty of $240,000 to resolve several alleged violations of RCRA and the Georgia Hazardous Waste Management Act (GHWMA). The alleged violations include failure to prepare manifests for hazardous waste containers and failure to meet certain conditions for a permit exemption relating to storage, labeling, marking, inspection and recordkeeping.

On May 29, 2008, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (GAEPD) inspected an EZ Emission facility in Rex, Ga., after receiving a complaint from the owner about unknown containers stored there. During the inspection, GAEPD discovered approximately nine containers marked “Hazardous Waste” and affixed with YKK’s shipping labels. GAEPD further discovered that the containers had been placed at this location by a hazardous waste vendor used by YKK. Upon this discovery, YKK immediately arranged for these containers to be removed to a properly-permitted location. As part of GAEPD’s investigation concerning the discovered wastes, GAEPD inspected a private residence on June 12, 2008 owned by the vendor, and discovered approximately seven containers affixed with YKK’s shipping labels. This residential location was also the vendor’s business address supplied to GAEPD.

A RCRA compliance evaluation inspection (CEI) of YKK’s Ocmulgee Park and Chestney Site facilities was conducted by EPA and GAEPD on August 6, 2008 to determine compliance status and to investigate the circumstances associated with the discovery of YKK’s wastes. Based on the previous discovery of YKK’s wastes and the CEI, EPA issued a Notice of Violation to YKK on February 4, 2009 identifying alleged violations of RCRA. On February 26, 2009, upon discovery, YKK immediately notified EPA and GAEPD that additional containers of wastes affixed with YKK’s shipping labels were stored by the vendor at a self-storage facility in Macon, Ga. that had been rented by the vendor. EPA inspected the self-storage facility the following day, and confirmed that approximately 57 containers of YKK’s wastes were left in storage. YKK arranged for these containers to be removed to a properly-permitted location pending further investigation. YKK has certified that all alleged violations have been corrected as part of the CA/FO.

RCRA was enacted by Congress in 1976. RCRA’s primary goals are to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of waste disposal, to conserve energy and natural resources, to reduce the amount of waste generated, and to ensure that wastes are managed in an environmentally sound manner.