EPA issues largest proposed Superfund penalty on record, $6.8M in all

May 18th, 2016 by Dakota Software Staff Industry News

The Environmental Protection Agency recently issued what's believed to be its biggest single financial penalty for a business violating environmental regulations related to its Superfund and the associated site management requirements. The federal agency announced a $6.78 million fine levied against a Pennsylvania-based energy management company, according to area newspaper The Morning Call. The business is accused of breaking an agreement made in 2002, which was related to the management of an EPA Superfund site contaminated by previous owners of that property. The fine is the largest ever proposed in relation to the Superfund and the third-largest in history across all areas of EPA operations.

Issues with Superfund site clean up
The energy management company that manages the site in Emmaus, a borough near Allentown in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, is the third business entity to own it. First developed in 1930, the plot of land housed a 4,000-square-foot production facility for electrical components, The Morning Call said. It's situated close to both residential and other industrial properties.

The purchase by the current owner occurred in 1991, the same year in which the EPA declared the land a Superfund site. The major structures on the property were demolished by 1993. During the same time period, investigators found significant well contamination from ground pollutants in the surrounding area, to the point where the borough had to discontinue use of two such water sources. Management of the property eventually led to a 2002 consent decree that required the owner to treat and remove contaminated groundwater. Business news site The Morning Consult said the lack of appropriate measures to handle contaminated groundwater led to uncontrolled emissions of air pollutants.

"We will not tolerate violation of our consent decrees, especially where those violations can result in risks to public health, welfare and the environment" said EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin in a release from the organization. "The significant penalty in this case shows that non-compliance with settlement requirements have serious consequences."

Meeting and exceeding environmental regulations is a serious concern for businesses in a wide variety of industries. While Superfund sites and the potential for associated seven-figure penalties are thankfully rare in relative terms, there are many other federal and local regulations that all companies must consider. Using EHS software bolsters compliance efforts and helps organizations ensure they don't overlook or misinterpret important rules and recommendations.