Michael S. Regan 16th Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency | Official Website
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a settlement with All American Asphalt over allegations that the company failed to provide complete and accurate reports of its releases of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) from its asphalt manufacturing plant in Irvine, California, during 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. These releases have been deemed permitted but must still be reported accurately under federal environmental law. The company will pay a $53,115 penalty.
"Communities have a right to know about chemical releases in their neighborhood," said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “These are not simple paperwork issues. The health and safety of communities where these types of businesses operate depend on a company’s compliance with these requirements, particularly when toxic chemicals such as PACs are involved.”
All American Asphalt, headquartered in Corona, California, has agreed to submit fully complete and accurate Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Forms to the EPA as part of the agreement to resolve claimed violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. The company has also permanently shut down the Irvine facility.
The Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act created the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), which requires regulated facilities to document and report the quantity of toxic chemicals released annually. This is an important tool for understanding potential environmental health concerns. PACs can remain in the environment for a long time and may accumulate in the human body. TRI reports allow community members, including planners and emergency responders, access to information about pollutants in their communities. By failing to properly report pollution releases to the EPA, a facility deprives its community members of timely and accurate data about the environmental health of their community.
