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Federal Data Annual Results - 2007
Kentucky
EPA works in partnership with states in targeting federal enforcement where it produces the most environmental benefit.
| Results Obtained from EPA Civil Enforcement Actions: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Direct Enforcement Benefits - including benefits from Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) | ||
| Pollutants Reduced (Pounds) | 140,919,617 |
|
| Contaminated Soil to be Cleaned Up (Cubic Yards) | 1,184,539 |
Investments in Pollution Control and Clean-up (Injunctive Relief) | $1,840,306,918 |
| Investments in Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) | $685,837 |
|
| Civil Penalties | $3,253,909 |
|
| Counts of EPA Civil Enforcement Actions: | |
|---|---|
| Civil Judicial Conclusions | 4 |
| Final Administrative Penalty Orders | 66 |
| Administrative Compliance Orders | 26 |
Sources for Data displayed in this document: Integrated Compliance Information System (ICIS), Criminal Case Reporting System, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Information System (CERCLIS), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo), Air Facility System (AFS), and Permit Compliance System (PCS) October 13, 2007.
Selected Highlights
District Court in Kentucky Enters Consent Decree in U.S. v. Sanitation District Number 1 of Northern Kentucky. On April 18, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky issued an order entering the Consent Decree which resolves claims that Sanitation District Number 1 (SD#1) violated the Clean Water Act by illegally discharging millions of gallons of untreated municipal wastewater through sanitary sewer overflows, combined sewer overflows, and other unpermitted discharges. The Consent Decree was lodged in October 2005. With a goal of eliminating SSOs from its collection system and achieving compliance with the CSO Control Policy, the proposed Consent Decree will require SD#1 to: propose and implement specific corrective action plans to bring its CSOs into compliance; propose and implement specific corrective action plans to eliminate overflows (particularly at certain pump stations); improve its management, operation and maintenance (MOM) programs to prevent future overflows; and respond to overflows when they occur. SD#1 has estimated that this work will cost over $880 million. The final penalty amount is $476,400: $338,200 to be paid to the Commonwealth and $138,200 to be paid to the United States. At a cost of $311,000, SD#1 will also perform a Supplemental Environmental Project to reduce extraneous flows entering the sewer system through defective residential private laterals and through illicit connections from residential properties and extend sewer service to areas currently served by defective septic tanks or straight pipes discharging raw sewage. The total average annual amount of pollutants reduced as a result of this action totals 5,804,495 pounds/year.
Stormwater cases result in over 31 million pounds of pollution reduced. In support of EPA’s National Enforcement Priority for Wet Weather/Storm Water, Region 4 issued 27 administrative actions requiring injunctive relief for Clean Water Act and storm water violations at construction sites. These actions were brought against developers and homebuilders in AL, GA, KY, NC and TN. The total average annual amount of pollutants reduced for the actions was 31.9 million pounds/year. The violations ranged from failure to obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to failure to follow the NPDES permit conditions. The NPDES permit conditions that were violated included: failure to properly design, implement or maintain best management practices; failure to maintain records; failure to inspect; and failure to take all reasonable steps to prevent or minimize discharges that may cause harm to the environment. Each of the administrative orders required that the violations be corrected within a specified period of time and that documentation be provided to the government to demonstrate that the violations were corrected.
Region 4 Files Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) with Crittenden County Coal, Incorporated, (Respondent) in Crittenden, Kentucky to Resolve Alleged Violations of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act: A CAFO was filed on June 19, 2007, to resolve alleged violations of Clean Water Act Section 404. The alleged violation was discharging dredged and/or fill material into a perennial stream without a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit. The Respondent’s actions impacted approximately 2,280 linear feet of the stream. To resolve this matter, Respondent has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $100,000 to the U.S. Treasury.
EPA Region 4 Files Consent Agreement and Final Order with BP Pipelines (North America), Incorporated, in Allegre, Kentucky to resolve Clean Water Act Section 311 Violation: On September 25, 2007, EPA Region 4 filed a Class II Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO) with BP Pipelines (North America), Inc. (BP), regarding a violation of Section 311(b)(3) of the Clean Water Act, 33 United States Code Section 1321(b)(3), in Allegre, Todd County, Kentucky. The violation involved a spill of 10,500 gallons of Xylol (a mixture of xylenes and ethylbenzene) into navigable waters from a BP interstate pipeline running through Allegre, Kentucky. The spill occurred on November 23, 2005. Pursuant to this CAFO, BP has agreed to pay a penalty of $80,133.
Consent Decree Entered in United States and Commonwealth of Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet verses Mid-Valley Pipeline Company, et.al: On November 2, 2006, a multi-regional Consent Decree in United States and Commonwealth of Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet verses Mid-Valley Pipeline Company, Sun Pipe Line Company and Sunoco Pipeline L.P., Civil Action No. 06-00057, was entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The Consent Decree resolves claims asserted in the Complaint, filed on August 15, 2006, pursuant to Section 311 of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Chapter 224 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes and related Kentucky Administrative Regulations. The United States and Kentucky reached a settlement with Mid-Valley Pipeline Company (Mid-Valley) and pipeline operator Sunoco Pipeline L.P. (SPLP), requiring the companies to pay a $2.57 million penalty relating to a January 26, 2005, spill that dumped more than 260,000 gallons of crude oil into the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers (Kentucky spill). Mid-Valley and SPLP will pay $1.4 million to the United States, and $1.17 million to Kentucky. In addition to the penalty, Mid-Valley and SPLP will perform injunctive relief to enhance future spill response preparation, and will reimburse the Commonwealth for response costs of more than $120,000. The Defendants have already reimbursed federal response costs of at least $234,000. The Consent Decree also requires Mid-Valley and SPLP to donate $230,000 to a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the environment of Kentucky. This settlement is in addition to the approximately $9.5 million Defendants spent on their response action to clean up the Kentucky spill. The Kentucky spill occurred as a result of a girth weld failure in 22-inch diameter pipe that had been laid in 1950. The oil spill harmed hundreds of migratory waterfowl and the oil slick was over 17 miles long. The Complaint and Consent Decree also address the United States’ claim under the CWA against Mid-Valley and the pipeline operator, Sun Pipe Line Company (Sun), for a spill of 63,000 gallons of crude oil due to pipeline corrosion on November 24, 2000, into Campit Lake in Claiborne Parish, LA. The Consent Decree requires Mid-Valley and Sun to pay a federal civil penalty of $300,000 for that spill, in addition to the $2.2 million spent by the Defendants in response costs and restoration, and to the over $26,000 reimbursed for federal response costs.
The EPA and Department of Justice settle a Clean Air Act case with East Kentucky Power Cooperative: On July 2, 2007, the United States Environmental Protection Agency and United States Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC) for Clean Air Act (Act) violations at EKPC's coal-fired power plants known as the Spurlock and Dale generating stations. The settlement will require the installation of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) for the control of sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions as well as year-round operation of selective catalytic reduction devices (SCRs) for the control of nitrogen oxides (NOx) at the Spurlock power plant. The settlement also imposes unit-specific emission rates for SO2, NOx, and particulate matter (PM) at Spurlock, Cooper and Dale. The settlement will reduce SO2 and NOx emissions by more than 60,000 tons per year (tpy) based on 2005 operations. The cost of this injunctive relief to EKPC will be approximately $650 million, which includes an Environment Project valued at $47 million for installation of Wet Electro-Static Precipitators designed to reduce EKPC's sulfuric acid mist emissions. Finally, EKPC will pay a civil penalty of $750,000.
EPA signs Removal Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for the LWD, Incorporated, Superfund Site in Calvert City, Kentucky on February 28, 2007: On Wednesday, February 28, 2007, EPA Region 4 signed the Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for Removal Action (AOC) for the LWD, Inc. Superfund Site located in Calvert City, KY. The LWD, Inc., Site was one of the largest hazardous waste facilities in the nation. From the early 1970's through the beginning of 2003, the facility was operated by six distinct entities. During the last 22 years of its operation, the facility received approximately 1.2 billion pounds of hazardous wastes from more than five thousand generators. In February 2006, when the Kentucky Environmental Protection Cabinet referred the Site to EPA’s Emergency Removal and Response Branch, EPA found that the containment area surrounding the north tank farm was quickly filling up with rainwater mixing with chemical residues and producing hazardous waste. EPA initiated an emergency response to avert a potential spill of hazardous substances. The agreement reached in February 2007 with fifty-eight parties, known as the PRP group, provides for continued removal work at the Site which is estimated to cost approximately $12 million and the reimbursement of EPA’s response costs associated with the AOC. The PRP clean-up work, which began on March 24, 2007, includes, but is not limited to, decontaminating, dismantling and removing the incinerator structure at the site. The clean-up is expected to eliminate approximately 1.2 million cubic yards of contaminated media from the Site.