FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, JULY 31, 2003 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/ENRD ENRD (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 On Mar. 11, 2003, Attorney General John Ashcroft and Assistant Attorney General Thomas L. Sansonetti of the Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division affirmed their commitment to vigorous and fair enforcement of the nations environmental laws to ensure that our citizens breathe cleaner air, drink purer water, and fully enjoy our nations natural resources.
They announced that the Environment Division would focus particular attention on three civil law enforcement priorities: 1. Leveling the Playing Field 2. Maintaining the Integrity of the Nations Infrastructure 3. Conserving the Superfund Under Attorney General Ashcrofts leadership, the Environment and Natural Resources Division is today reporting that it has made important progress in each of these three areas.
OVERVIEW Leveling the Playing Field Ensuring that Lawbreakers Do Not Benefit from Noncompliance Those who fail to comply with environmental laws gain a competitive advantage over their law abiding competitors. Leveling the playing field focuses on bringing recalcitrant members of a regulated industry into compliance with applicable laws and on recovering the economic benefit gained by recalcitrants when they avoid compliance costs.
In the past three months, the Division has entered into six major Clean Air Act settlements that will help level the corporate playing field in three industries: Coal-Fired Power Plants, Ethanol and Corn Products, and Industrial Bakeries.
The combined effect of these settlements will reduce air pollution by over 465,000 tons per year. This marks the most successful four months of law enforcement ever under the Clean Air Act.
Four New Power Plant Settlements Will Reduce Pollution by 400,000 Tons Each Year * $1.2 billion settlement with the Virginia Electric Power Co. (VEPCO) will eliminate 237,000 tons of air pollution each year from eight coal-fired power plants in Virginia and West Virginia. Civil penalty of $5.3 million; $13.9 million in mitigation projects. (April, 2003) * $600 million settlement with Wisconsin Electric Power Company (WEPCO) will eliminate 105,000 tons of air pollution each year from five coal-fired electricity generating plants in Wisconsin and Michigan. Civil penalty of $3.2 million; $20 million in mitigation projects. (April, 2003) * $330 million settlement with Alcoa will eliminate 68,000 tons of pollution each year through construction of a new coal-fired power plant with state-of-the-art pollution controls at its aluminum production facility in Rockdale, Texas. Civil penalty of $1.5 million; $2.5 million in mitigation projects. (April, 2003) * $30 million settlement with the Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Co. (SIGECO) will eliminate 10,500 tons of pollution each year at SIGECOs Culley Station power plant in Newburgh, Indiana. Civil penalty of $600,000; $2.5 million in mitigation projects. (June, 2003) Broadening Compliance in the Ethanol and Corn Refining Industry * $330 million settlement with Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) will eliminate 63,000 tons of harmful pollution each year from 52 ethanol production, corn product and oilseed plants in 16 states. Civil penalty of $4.6 million; $6.3 million in mitigation projects. (April, 2003) Additional Settlement with an Alaskan Seafood Processor * $350,000 settlement with Icicle Seafoods focusing on the illegal discharges of seafood processing waste by Alaskan companies. Civil penalty of $85,000. (June 2003) Reducing Ozone-Depleting CFCs * $12 million settlement with Earthgrains Baking Companies will virtually eliminate the emission of chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances from 264 industrial and commercial refrigeration units at 67 large commercial bakeries in 22 states. Includes civil penalty of $5.25 million. (July, 2003) Maintaining the Integrity of the Nations Infrastructure Enhancing Security and Minimizing Vulnerabilities Pipelines, factories that use hazardous materials, chemical storage facilities, and antiquated municipal drinking water and sewer systems are vulnerable to failure or terrorist attacks. The risks of such a catastrophic event can be reduced by compelling compliance with environmental laws to ensure these facilities are properly maintained and monitored.
The Divisions commitment in this area reflects the Presidents support for initiatives that improve the safety of natural gas pipelines, protect the environment, strengthen emergency preparedness and inspections, and bolster enforcement.
Seven settlements over the past four months are particularly noteworthy in this area: Pipeline Industry Settlement Brings 5,500 Mile Pipeline into Compliance * $64 million settlement with Colonial Pipeline, the worlds largest-volume pipeline transporter of petroleum products, for spills totaling more than 1.45 million gallons of oil. Settlement includes $34 million civil penalty, the largest ever obtained from a single company, and $30 million to be spend on upgrades to Colonials inspection and maintenance practices along its entire 5,500 mile pipeline. (April, 2003) Increased Vigilance at Chemical Factories * $1 million settlement with DuPont due to release of hydrogen fluoride gas from its Louisville, Kentucky fluoroproducts plant that resulted in the evacuation of several nearby plants and health warnings issued to residential neighborhoods. Settlement includes $550,000 civil penalty and $550,000 in Supplemental Environmental Projects, including purchase of emergency response equipment and creation of green buffer zone between plants and surrounding community. (July, 2003) Mandating Improvements in Municipal Sewer Systems * $150 million partial settlement with Washington D.C. Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) will reduce illegal discharges of untreated sewage into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. Civil penalty of $250,000; $2 million in mitigation projects. (June, 2003) * $300 million settlement with Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority will end illegal discharges of raw sewage from more than 600 pump stations throughout the island. (March, 2003) * $126 million agreed order with Government of Guam to upgrade sewage plant and sewage collection system. (May, 2003) Conserving the Superfund Increasing the Availability of Funds to Clean Up Contaminated Sites The Environmental Protection Agency uses Superfund monies to assess contamination at hazardous waste sites and perform cleanups where responsible parties cannot be found or are unwilling to participate. The Division has reinforced efforts to recover EPAs response costs. These actions return money to the Superfund and save scarce Superfund dollars by placing the financial responsibility for cleanup on the shoulders of those who caused the problem. Cost recovery and cleanup agreements help sustain the Superfund and keep it available to fund cleanup activities at additional hazardous sites.
Several settlements promoting this priority are particularly noteworthy: * $14 million settlement for additional work under two consent decrees at the Commencement Bay Site in Tacoma, Washington, in addition to final court approval of two consent decrees lodged providing for $65 million in work at this site. (March, 2003) * $57 million settlement with Lockheed Martin Corp. and Todd Pacific Corp. for cleanup work at the Harbor Island Site in Seattle, Washington. (May, 2003) * $30 million settlement with Tecumseh Products Co. for cleanup work and reimbursement of EPA costs in the upper portion of the Sheboygan River Site in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. (May, 2003) * $24 million settlement with RSR Corporation for cleanup work and reimbursement of EPA costs in removing lead contamination from residential areas of west Dallas, Texas. (April, 2003) * $10 million settlement for groundwater cleanup at the Puente Valley Operable Unit of the San Gabriel Valley Superfund Sites in Los Angeles County, California. (July, 2003) * $12 million settlement with Weyerhauser for work at the Weyerhauser Plymouth Wood Treating Site in North Carolina. (June, 2003) * $9 million settlement with 17 companies for clean up work and reimbursement of response costs at the Waste Disposal Inc. site in Santa Fe Springs, California, a former industrial waste site used by the oil industry as a landfill. (March, 2003) 03-431
Source: US Department of Justice
