A Washington state salvage company's repeated violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) have resulted in a $50,300 fine, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced recently.
GT Metals & Salvage LLC, of Longview., Wash., regularly discharged industrial stormwater into ditches leading to the Columbia River in violation of Washington's Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP) regulations, the EPA reports in the March 31 announcement.
Industrial stormwater such as that released by GT Metals & Salvage "may include metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), fuel oil, hydraulic oil, brake fluids, lead acid, and lead oxides," the EPA states in the report. "These pollutants and other debris can harm aquatic life and affect water quality." EPA reports GT Metals and Salvage has a history of WISGP and CWA violations going back more than a decade.
“Despite compliance assistance provided by state and local agencies, along with numerous enforcement actions over the past 10 years, it seems the company was unwilling to reach compliance,” Ed Kowalski, director of EPA Region 10’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, said in the report.
A February 2020 EPA inspection of the company found it failed to develop a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP); implement best management practices; conduct required sampling of discharges and monthly visual inspections; and complete, submit, and maintain records, the EPA reports.
The EPA's consent agreement and final order, filed Feb. 16, requires GT Metals & Salvage to develop a SWPPP; implement best-management practices; monitor stormwater discharges; improve site conditions; and and submit documentation to EPA of its enforcement of ISGP requirements, the EPA reports.
“EPA works to protect public health and the environment by limiting pollution in runoff from industrial activities,” Kowalski said in the announcement. “When companies comply with permits, they’re better equipped to prevent and reduce potential discharge of industrial pollution."
