United States Office of February 1989
Environmental Protection Public Affairs EPA-905/9-89-004
Agency
FY 1988
REGION 5
Enforcement
Accomplishments
Report
U.S. Environurnt>" " ' -''on Agoncy
Region 5, LIT: .• ,•
230 S. Durbar.. .., ......a 1670
Chicago, IL 6uCOi
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FY 1988 ENPCKCEMENT HKHLK3ITS
In Fiscal Year 1988 (October 1, 1987 to September 30, 1988), EPA. Region
5 continued its environmental enforcement activity through hundreds of
administrative and civil enforcement actions. Region 5 believes that
vigorous enforcement of environmental law is vital to the credibility and
effectiveness of EPA's regulatory programs. This summary is meant as a
regional supplement to the "FY 1988 Enforcement Accomplishments Report,"
prepared by EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Monitoring in
Washington, DC.
The following highlights demonstrate the use of enforcement tools to
achieve environmental results.
- A total of 74 civil cases were referred to the Department of
Justice (DOJ) for civil judicial enforcement.
- A total of 69 civil cases were resolved.
- A total of 392 administrative enforcement actions were issued.
- Region 5's Office of Criminal Investigation (OCI) referred 11
cases to DOJ.
- In carrying out new sections of the Clean Water Act, Region 5
led the Nation with seven of the 10 penalty orders for the
unauthorized filling of wetlands.
CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT PRCX3WM
In cases where violations of environmental laws are knowing and
deliberate acts, Region 5 uses its criminal enforcement powers. Of
particular note in FY '88 was a July 1988 spot-check of hazardous waste
carriers at the Michigan-Ontario border conducted by Region 5 in conjunction
with the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources and the Ontario Ministry of
Environment. The spot check was part of an operation to evaluate the
transportation of regulated chemicals and wastes between the U.S. and Canada.
Check points were established in Detroit and Windsor, at Blue Water Bridge at
Port Huron, MI, and International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie. Checks on both
sides of the border included a review of documents and analyses of samples at
nearby mobile laboratories. As a result of the spot-check, Region 5 started
12 preliminary investigations.
The Criminal Enforcement program also obtained two indictments against
violators of the Toxic Substances Control Act. In the first case, the
manager of Chemical Waste Management Inc.'s Vickery, Ohio, facility was
indicted for failing to keep records on the disposal of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) as required by TSCA. In the second case two employees of
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Seabright Environmental Corp. of Ohio, Patrick Paciesas and John Plantan,
received suspended sentences and were put on probation for the unlawful
disposal of PCB-contaminated oil.
Region 5's Criminal program also conducted 21 investigations, issued 142
subpoenas, executed three search warrants, and referred 11 cases to the DOJ
for prosecution.
WATER ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
CIVIL JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT
Region 5 referred 21 Clean Water Act (CWA) cases and one Safe Drinking
Water Act (SDWA) case to DOJ for civil judicial enforcement. It also
resolved 14 civil judicial complaints and collected $664,000 in civil
penalties under CWA. Four SDWA judicial cases were settled yielding $22,300
in civil penalties.
DOJ filed 11 National Municipal Policy (NMP) cases on behalf of Region 5
and eight consent decrees were lodged resolving similar cases, thus leading
the Nation. The CWA's NMP required all municipalities to be in compliance
with final NPDES permits by July 1, 1988. Particularly noteworthy were two
NMP cases against treatment plants; one serving the Minneapolis - St. Paul
area and the other serving the City of Akron.
One of the most noteworthy civil judicial resolutions of FY '88 was an
August consent decree reached with LTV Steel Tubular Products Co, the
Nation's third-largest steel manufacturer. The decree orders LTV to comply
with all pretreatment requirements of the CWA at its Ferndale, MI, and
Cleveland plants and to pay a $450,000 fine.
ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT
Through the use of administrative enforcement, Region 5 led the Nation
in wetlands complaints, with seven out of the 10 issued nationally. In
January 1988, Region 5 issued the Nation's first administrative penalties for
unauthorized filling of wetlands in violation of Section 404 of the Clean
Water Act. Kirk Corp. of Streamwood, Illinois, was cited for filling one
acre of an 18-acre wetland site; Woodland Development Corp. of Andover,
Minnesota was cited for filling in 22 acres of wetlands to develop a golf
course and housing project; and the Hoffman Group was cited for filling in
six acres of wetlands. A $15,000 fine was proposed against Kirk; $75,000
fine against Woodland Development; and a $125,000 fine against the Hoffman
Group.- Region 5 also took enforcement actions against South Shore Railroad
of Chicago, Illinois; the Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District; Portrait
Homes of Palatine, Illinois; and the Tawny Lake Development Project of South
Bend, Indiana. Significantly, these complaints call for the restoration or
mitigation of the damaged wetlands.
The wetlands enforcement actions are the fruition of Region 5's
outstanding wetlands protection program which serves as a model for the
Nation. This program includes advanced identification of wetland areas,
vigorous enforcement, and public outreach components. Each year, 458,000
acres of wetlands are destroyed in the united States. In Northeast Illinois
alone, 90 percent of the wetlands have been destroyed since the State was
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settled. The FY '88 wetlands enforcement initiative is a clear signal to
developers that Region 5 will do everything in its power to enforce the law
and prevent the unnecessary and unlawful destruction of these precious
resources.
Region 5 issued a total of 24 administrative penalty orders (309G)
including those that addressed National Pollutant Discharge and Elimination
System (NPDES) matters. Eighty-two administrative orders were also issued
(under 309A).
In FY '88, the Region increased administrative enforcement activity
under the SDWA program with 26 Underground Injection Control proposed orders
and 12 final orders yielding $25,630 in administrative penalties. Region 5
issued 33 public water supply proposed orders and 31 final orders.
CWA JUDICIAL CASES RESOLVED
Illinois:
1. U.S. Plating, Chicago — withdrawn — 11/23/87
2. Joliet Wastewater Treatment Plant East — $160,000 civil penalty
9/12/88
3. West Frankfort — $23,000 civil penalty — 9/19/89
Indiana:
4. Clarksville — $55,000 civil penalty — 2/1/88
5. Inland Steel Co. — $100,000 civil penalty — 5/4/88
6. East Chicago — $160,000 civil penalty to U.S./$40,000 legal fees
to Illinois —6/14/88
7. Franklin — withdrawn — 6/6/88
8. Greensburg, — $50,000 civil penalty — 9/12/88
Michigan:
9. Flushing — withdrawn — 6/6/88
10. Wixom — $35,000 civil penalty — 8/22/88
11. Lowell — $25,000 civil penalty — 11/5/87
Ohio:
12. Geneva -- $30,000 civil penalty — 5/4/88
13. Finishing Corp. of America/ Campbell — declined/shutdown —
8/17/88
14. Wellsville — $5,000 civil penalty — 8/17/88
SEfriA. CIVIL JUDICIAL CASES SETTLED
1. Devon Corp. , IN — $5,000 civil penalty — 10/7/87
2. Gary Tussey, IN — $5,000 civil penalty — 3/10/88
3. Carlisle, IN — $4,800 civil penalty — 4/27/88
4. Carefree Homes, IN — $7,500 civil penalty — 5/16/88
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AIR ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
CIVTT, JUDICIAL EPM3RCEMENT
Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 24 civil judicial cases were referred to
the DOJ for enforcement and 25 civil judicial cases were resolved.
The enforcement program reaped a bonus from the protracted litigation
over the Ford Motor Company's Mt. Clemens, Michigan, facility when an April
28, 1988, consent decree was entered requiring Ford to pay the United States
$1,750,000. The penalty was the largest ever collected by ERA in the
settlement of a case involving violations of volatile organic' compound
emission limits.
A total of $2,911,800 in civil penalties were levied against violators
of the CAA.
ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT!
During FY '88, Region 5 was successful in implementing its asbestos
NESHAP demolition program by issuing five judicial compliance orders and
seven administrative cease and desist orders. Forty-four administrative
orders were issued.
CAA CIVIL JUDICIAL CASES RESOLVED
Illinois:
1. Lithographies Industries/Broadview — $20,000 civil penalty —
12/24/87
2. Central Illinois Public Health Service/Coffeen — $75,000 civil
penalty — 5/24/88
3. Midwest Asbestos Removal Service/ Tinley Park — $25,000 civil
penalty — 6/24/88
4. Dietzgen/Des Plaines — $61,500 civil penalty — 7/25/88
5. Weiss/Chicago — $3,500 civil penalty — 8/12/88
6. Semford Contracting Inc./Chicago — $14,500 civil penalty —
3/16/88
Indiana:
7. City of Indianapolis — $75,000 civil penalty — 1/8/88
8. Indiana Dept. of Mental Health/Indianapolis — $28,500 civil
penalty — 5/4/88
9. USX/Gary — $150,000 civil penalty — 6/27/88
Michigan:
10. Monitor Sugar/Bay City — $250,000 civil penalty — 12/30/87
11. Michigan Dept. of Mental Health/Nbrthville — $9,500 civil penalty
- 3/10/88
12. Ford Motor Co./Mt. Clemens — $1,750,000 civil penalty — 4/28/88
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13. Greater Detroit — no penalty — 8/4/88
14. Adamo Wrecking/Detroit — $25,000 civil penalty — 8/31/88
Minnesota:
15. Northern Minnesota Paving/International Falls — $3,750 civil
penalty —11/27/88
Ohio:
16. Interior Steel Equipment/Cleveland — $15,000 civil penalty —
10/15/87
17. Sancap Abrasives/Alliance — $30,000 civil penalty — 10/25/87
18. Delhi Welding/Cincinnati — $27,500 civil penalty — 12/16/87
19. Youngstown Thermal Corp. — $110,000 civil penalty — 3/8/88
20. Van Leer Containers, Inc./Cleveland — $12,000 civil penalty -
3/21/88
21. Easco/Girard — $2,800 civil penalty — 7/20/88
22. Multicolor/Cincinnati — $75,000 civil penalty — 7/27/88
23. USX/Lorain — $50,000 civil penalty — 8/2/88
24. Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp./Mingo Junction — $98,750 civil
penalty — 8/12/88
Wisconsin:
25. Weyerhasueser Co./Rothchild — withdrawn — 12/2/87
TOXIC SUBSIMJCES AND FESttlCmFS ENFORCEMENT HJOGRAM
TSCA and FIFRA CIVIL AEIXIIMISTRATIVE EMDRCEMENT
During FY '88, enforcement of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was
heavily concentrated in the administrative process. Region 5 issued 120 TSCA
administrative complaints and 134 TSCA consent agreements and final orders.
Region 5 proposed $2,361,750 and levied $509,265 in administrative fines.
Thirty-one FIFRA complaints were issued and 24 FIFRA administrative actions
were resolved.
One of the more notable TSCA consent agreements of FY '88 was reached
with Milwaukee Public School District requiring the district to conduct a $2
million dollar friable asbestos removal program. Region 5 had filed an
administrative complaint alleging violations of TSCA's friable asbestos-in-
schools rule at 18 district schools. The district also agreed to bring all
its 168 schools into compliance with the schools rule by October 15, 1988,
and to accelerate inspections.
Additionally, under TSCA, Region 5 resolved two administrative
complaints against state facilities for violations of polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs) rules by requiring agency-wide environmental monitoring.
The Illinois Dept. of Mental Health agreed to audit its 23 facilities for
compliance with PCB rules; and it estimates it will spend approximately
$160,000 to achieve compliance. The Michigan Dept. of Mental Health agreed
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to audit its 13 facilities and to remedy any violations of PCB rules found
through the audit.
T5CA and FIFRA CIVIL JUDICIAL ENFORCEMEEJI
Region 5 referred one FIFRA and four TSCA cases to DOJ for civil
judicial enforcement. A particularly noteworthy civil case resolved in FY
'88 was the against Continental Chemiste Corp., and Kenneth Kass, seeking an
order to prohibit the sale or distribution of cancelled and unregistered
pesticides and requiring proper disposal of existing pesticide stocks. A
Deceiriber 14, 1988, consent decree requires the defendants .to 1) notify
retailers who received shipments of the pesticides that it is illegal to sell
the product and 2) accept the returned shipments and properly dispose of
them. Region 5 also filed against Kass and the corporation an administrative
complaint which proposes a $628,000 civil penalty and alleges more than 1,200
illegal sales of cancelled and unregistered pesticides and two refusals to
allow EPA inspections.
HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT ENFORCEMENT PROC3*AM
CIVIL JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT
In FY '88, Region 5 focused its civil judicial enforcement efforts
under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) on resolving several
"loss of interim status" (LOIS) cases initiated in FY '86 and '87.
Particularly noteworthy among these was the settlement of the Region's case
against Keystone Industries of Illinois in which the facility agreed to RCRA
closure and paid a $250,000 civil penalty. Four other LOIS cases were
settled in the Region resulting in closure of the waste units and penalties
totalling $455,066. In all, eight civil judicial cases were resolved under
RCRA requiring either cleanup or closure of waste units and netting Region 5
a total of $384,024 in civil penalties. Four new RCRA cases were referred to
DOJ, including Region 5's first alleging violations of 1985 regulations on
the use of hazardous waste as boiler fuel; it was against Gateway Petroleum
of East St. Louis, IL.
A significant judicial ruling was achieved in the RCRA case against
Indiana Woodtreating of Bloomington. The court ruled that hazardous waste
facilities that never attempted to attain the necessary interim status to
operate are still subject to RCRA's requirement for corrective action. This
decision will help EPA to require cleanups at facilities across the Nation
where controversy reigned over the Agency's corrective action authority.
ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT
In the administrative process, Region 5 negotiated 44 settlements of
complaints for penalties totalling approximately $669,000. An additional 38
new RCRA administrative complaints were filed during FY '88 as well. An
important administrative decision was also reached regarding the Inland
Metals, Chicago, Illinois case in which the court found that the company
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violated more than 20 RCRA regulations and ordered Inland to comply with all
applicable requirements.
Region 5 also issued six corrective action orders calling for studies
and cleanups at the expense of the owner/operator.
RCRA CIVIL JUDICIAL COMPLAINTS ISSUED
1. Kent-Holland/Holland, MI — 5/2/88
2. Gateway Petroleum/East St. Louis, IL — 9/6/88
3. Chemical Waste Management Inc./Vickery, OH — 9/16/88
4. Eljer Plumbing/Salem, OH — 10/31/87
RCRA CIVIL JUDICIAL CASES RESOLVED
Illinois:
1. Keystone Industries/Peoria — $280,000 civil penalty — 6/29/88
2. Paxton Landfill/Chicago — $10,000 civil penalty — 4/20/88
Indiana:
3. Avesta/New Castle — $175,000 civil penalty —12/7/88
Michigan:
4. Erie Coatings & Chemicals/Erie — stipulated penalties only — 6/20/88
5. Du-Well/Hartford — $21,402 civil penalty — 4-18-88
6. Buckeye Products/Adrian — $82,958 civil penalty — 12/16/87
Ohio:
7. Ashland Chemical/Akron — $78,214 civil penalty — 8/8/88
8. Hull Pottery/ Crooksville — $40,000 civil penalty — 3-8-88
SUPERFUND ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
CIVIL JUDICIAL ENFORCEMENT
Enforcement of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act (CERCLA), better known as Superfund, was greatly affected
by key provisions of the Superfund Reauthorization And Amendments (SARA)
enacted on October 17, 1986. Specifically, the statute of limitations for
cost recovery actions added by SARA required Region 5 to increase the number
of its cost recovery referrals to DOJ and to close a significant number of
these cases before the expiration date of October 17, 1989.
Region 5 referred 19 cases to DOJ for civil judicial enforcement. Most
of these cases included significant cost recovery components. Seven of the
referrals called for injunctive relief in the form of cleanup action under
Section 106 of CERCLA.
Substantial strides towards resolving numerous pending cost recovery
cases were made by the Region in FY '88. Of the 30 judicial resolutions, 16
included a significant cost recovery component totalling approximately $17.5
million. Six years of litigation concluded the Region's case against the
Isanti sJtes in Minnesota with a settlement garnering $860,000 for the
Superfund. The case against Rasmussen, Brighton, ME, was concluded in less
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than one year, with a settlement for recovering $530,000 of $610,000 spent in
the removal. Region 5 settled Dow Chemical of Midland, Michigan, for $1.4
million in costs, including non-Super fund costs that will go to the Water
program. And in a precedent-setting judicial ruling, the court ruled that
EPA be awarded 100% of the $342,000 cleanup conducted at Nbrthernaire of
Cadillac, Michigan.
The Region's five Section 106 resolutions also are noteworthy because
private parties will pay for the cleanups, thus saving more than $100,000
million of the Superfund. The Seymour Indiana litigation was completed after
more than eight years with the selection of an $18 million remedy. Outboard
Marine Corp. of Waukegan, Illinois agreed to cleanup estimated at more than
$20 million. The Spiegelberg case was settled to allow Region 5 to recover
about $ 1 million in past cleanup costs and the responsible parties to pay
for an estimated $20 million cleanup.
ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT
In administrative enforcement under Superfund, the most significant
trend in FY 88 was the Region's renewed emphasis on issuing unilateral 106
orders for cleanup. In FY '88, Region 5 issued 17 unilateral cleanup orders,
up from 10 such orders in FY '87. The compliance rate for these orders has
been about 80%, highlighting their value in obtaining quick clean-ups and
preserving Superfund monies. Region 5 also negotiated an increased number 15
of Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study orders.
In addition to unilateral and consent orders, Region 5 achieved several
administrative cost recovery settlements after issuing demand letters. Oak
Creek of Wisconsin netted the Agency the full $5,000 spent on the site, and
at Dowden Landfill in Fortville, IN, AT&T paid the full $36,000 cleanup bill.
Region 5 placed 14 liens on Superfund sites to ensure against windfalls to
site owners. Twenty-one CERCLA subpoenas were issued to identify potentially
responsible parties (PRPs). Of these, 10 subpoenas were issued on the Martel
sites (U.S. Scrap in Southeast Chicago and 9th Avenue Dump in' Hammond,
Indiana). The depositions resulting from the Martel subpoenas resulted in
the identification of 200 more PRPs to help defray the $20 million in
expected cleanup costs.
SUPERFUND JUDICIAL COMPLADyrs FTT.FD
Illinois:
1. Johns Manville/Waukegan — 3/18/88
2. Byron Salvage Yard/Byron — 5/31/88
Indiana:
3. Westinghouse Electric & Fell Iron/Bloomington — 1/22/88
4. Northside Sanitary Landfill, Inc./Zionsville — 6/2/88
5. Envirochem/Zionsville — 6/2/88
6. Chemisphere Inc. Partners/Fort Wayne — 12/17/87
Michigan:
7. Rasmussen Dump/Brighton — 1/8/88
8. Du-Well Products — 4/22/88
9. G&H Landfill/Shelby Township — 3/14/88
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Minnesota:
10. American Steel Drum/Bedford —9/29/88
Wisconsin:
11. Wausau — 11/30/87
SUPERFUND CIVIL JUDICIAL SETTLEMENTS
Illinois:
1. B.R. McKay
2. A&F International Inc./Greenup — 9/16/88
3. Outboard Marine/Waukegan — 9/30/88
4. Johns Manville/Waukegan — 3/18/88
Indiana:
5. Seymour Recycling/Seymour — 8/18/88
6. Gary Dog Pound/Gary — 10/8/87
7. Fisher-Calo/Kingsbury — 8/4/87
Michigan:
8. Spiegleberg/Brighton —11/29/88
9. Rose Township — 9/19/88
10. Peerless Plating Co./Muskegon —11/10/87
11. Nbrthernaire Plating/Cadillac — 5/6/88
Minnesota:
12. Isanti — 12/10/87
13. Union Scrap/Minneapolis — 5/9/88
Ohio:
14. Laskin Poplar/Jefferson — 3/23/88
Wisconsin:
15. Malleable Iron Range — 10/1/87
16. Rogers Labs/Milwaukee — 8/5/88
(Jhicag
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