FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENR
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1994 (202) 616-0189
TDD (202) 514-1888
EPA/HQ (202) 260-1384
EPA/NYC (212) 264-2515
KODAK AGREES TO UPGRADE AGING SEWER SYSTEM
AND TO $8 MILLION HAZARDOUS WASTE PENALTY
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- In a model settlement that could set the
pattern for the environmental overhaul of America's aging
industrial infrastructure, the United States Department of
Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today
announced that the largest manufacturing facility in the
Northeast has agreed to upgrade miles of industrial sewers and
reduce the discharge of hazardous wastes.
Eastman Kodak, whose 104-year-old Rochester, New York,
facility accommodates over 20,000 workers in 400 buildings, has
agreed to an $8 million civil penalty and will spend millions of
dollars more to inspect, repair and upgrade an estimated 31 miles
of industrial sewers at the facility, and to correct a series of
other violations. The lawsuit is the first to employ the
nation's primary hazardous waste law to attack ongoing pollution
from leaking sewers. The settlement additionally includes a
number of environmental projects that will have a significant
beneficial impact on the water quality of the Genessee River and
on air quality in northwestern New York.
"Our nation's aging manufacturing plants pose new challenges
to environmental enforcement," said U.S. Acting Assistant
Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources, Lois J.
Schiffer.
"Today's settlement shows how government and industry can
address the problem without forcing plants to close or jobs to
move."
"This case goes beyond obtaining compliance at one facility;
it serves as a wake-up call to the entire regulated community,"
said Steven A. Herman, EPA Assistant Administrator for
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
"Everyone managing hazardous waste should be on notice that
the federal government will use the environmental laws as needed
to ensure the safe operation of industrial sewer systems,
particularly at aging facilities."
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) is the
nation's primary law regulating hazardous waste. Kodak violated
RCRA by failing to identify hazardous wastes at its Kodak Park
facility, and by allowing the unlawful disposal of various
hazardous wastes through leaks in the facility's industrial sewer
system.
"This agreement sets a standard for the operation and
maintenance of complex industrial sewer systems so as to prevent
the contamination of soils and groundwater with hazardous wastes,
through compliance with RCRA," said Jeanne Fox, EPA Regional
Administrator in New York.
Kodak will be permitted to satisfy up to $3 million of the
penalty by implementing six environmental projects worth at least
$12 million to reduce hazardous wastes in its 2,200 acre Kodak
Park. The aggregate reduction is expected to exceed 2.3 million
pounds of pollutants by the year 2001.
"Prevention and reduction of pollution in the environment is
a goal that must be integrated into the way that companies do
business," said Herman. "By requiring such waste reductions in
this settlement, we are demonstrating that pollution prevention
is a fundamental component of our enforcement efforts."
Today's settlement also requires Kodak to implement a
state-of-the-art database system to classify and track all
hazardous wastes, which will enable Kodak to reduce the discharge
of such wastes into the sewer system. Kodak will also upgrade
and obtain a permit for one incinerator that treats the sludge
from Kodak Park's industrial wastewater. Two other incinerators
have been closed.
The settlement further signals the kind of cooperation that
the government seeks to achieve with other companies. Schiffer
observed: "This settlement shows industry how they can save on
litigation costs and help fashion a comprehensive remedial
program by settling cases through negotiations under the Civil
Justice Reform Executive Order. We encourage companies to step
forward when the invitation comes to resolve violations through
discussion rather than litigation."
"The federal government will vigorously enforce the law in
these situations, but we will offer clear standards for companies
like Kodak to follow as they come into compliance."
Jeanne Fox added, "When your neighbor is a major industry,
it is important to know that they will come to the negotiating
table when confronted with environmental violations, and work out
a plan that will correct the problem. Kodak's willingness to
come to the negotiating table benefitted the company, the people
of New York, and the environment."
In addition to the sewer-related violations, Kodak failed to
obtain a permit for an incinerator used to treat its industrial
wastewater sludge, and failed to disclose both hazardous and
solid waste management units that should have been included in
Kodak Park's RCRA permit. Kodak also failed to comply with
several of its RCRA permit conditions and violated regulations
covering the import and export of hazardous wastes and the proper
closure of certain underground storage tanks.
The settlement resolves the claims raised by the complaint
filed today with the consent decree in the U.S. District Court
for the Western District of New York.
"The close cooperation of EPA and the New York State
Department of Environmental Conservation in this case, along with
the efforts of Kodak to respond creatively to satisfy the United
States' environmental concerns, were critical in developing a
settlement acceptable to all parties," said Fox.
The consent decree is open to a 30 day public comment period
prior to final entry.
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