Michael S. Regan 16th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency | Official Website
Carlisle Construction Materials, LLC has paid a $24,780 penalty for violations of the Clean Water Act at its former facility in McMinnville, Oregon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the settlement on June 27, 2024.
In December 2021, an EPA inspector identified several violations of the company's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. These included failure to document an undisclosed stormwater discharge source in their Stormwater Pollution Control Plan, failure to monitor, sample, and visually inspect this undisclosed source, and failure to reduce exposure of a crumb rubber pile to stormwater.
"EPA is committed to enforcing the stormwater rules under the Clean Water Act to protect our treasured Pacific Northwest waterbodies," said Ed Kowalski, Director of EPA Region 10 Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "In this case, this enforcement action helped prevent thousands of pounds of pollution from entering the South Yamhill River."
The South Yamhill River is considered an impaired waterbody by both the EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality due to excessive levels of dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, iron, and high temperatures. The river fails to meet its Clean Water Act beneficial uses for fish and other aquatic life.
The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging pollutants from industrial sources into waters of the United States without an NPDES permit. Stormwater can pick up pollutants such as chemicals, oils, and sediment from industrial facilities which are then carried into waterways, harming fish and other aquatic life. The NPDES permit requires industrial sites to monitor, measure, and reduce stormwater pollution leaving their facilities.
Further details are available in the Expedited Settlement Agreement.
