United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
and Compliance
Assurance (2248A)
EPA 300-N-00-010
C/EPA Enforcement Alert
Volume 3, Number 6
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
June 2000
EPA's 'Audit Policy' Offers Opportunity for
Telecommunications Industry to Remedy Violations
The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) revised "Audit
Policy" now makes it easier for tele-
communications companies to disclose
violations of federal environmental
About
Enforcement Alert
"Enforcement Alert" is
published periodically by the
Office of Regulatory
Enforcement to inform and
educate the public and
regulated community of
important environmental
enforcement issues, recent
trends and significant
enforcement actions.
This information should help
the regulated community
anticipate and prevent
violations of federal
environmental law that could
otherwise lead to enforcement
action. Reproduction and wide
dissemination of this
newsletter is encouraged.
See Page 4 for useful
compliance assistance
resources.
Eric V. Schaeffer
Director, Office of
Regulatory Enforcement
Editor: Virginia Bueno
(202)564-8684
bueno.virginia@epamail.epa.gov
(Please Email all address and
name changes orsubscription
requests for this newsletter.)
regulations. Among other significant
changes, the policy now lengthens the
discovery period to 21 days from 10
days.
The revised Audit Policy, published
in the Federal Register April 11, 2000,
was developed as an incentive to com-
panies, including telecommunications
companies, to implement self-audits
for compliance with all environmental
laws. The policy substantially reduces,
and in some cases eliminates, penalties
for violations discovered, disclosed and
promptly corrected by a company. The
policy does not cover criminal viola-
tions by a company or violations that
resulted in actual significant harm to
public health or the environment (see
revised policy at http://www.epa.gov/
oeca/ore/apolguid.html).
In This Issue
Telecommunications companies are
obligated to comply with a number of
environmental requirements under the
Emergency Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), Clean
Water Act (CWA), Clean Air Act (CAA),
and Resource Conservation and Reco-
very Act (RCRA). These requirements
are triggered by the use of lead-acid bat-
teries and diesel-powered backup genera-
tors that provide uninterrupted power to
telecommunications facilities. EPA has
found widespread compliance problems
associated with the use of these backup
power sources at many telecommunica-
tions facilities.
In this issue of Enforcement Alert,
EPA highlights:
• Several telecommunications
companies that recently took advantage
of EPA's Audit Policy;
• A recent enforcement action
involving MCI WorldCom, Inc.; and
• Federal environmental require-
ments that may apply to telecommuni-
cations companies.
Responsible
Telecommunications
Companies Turn to the
Audit Policy to Return to
Compliance
EPA reached settlements under its
Audit Policy last year with 17 telecom-
munications companies that voluntar-
ily disclosed and promptly corrected
In their efforts to return to
compliance, 17
telecommunications
companies have ensured
156 facilities now have Spill
Prevention, Control, and
Countermeasure plans in
place, and have reported to
emergency responders and
planners more than
1,000,000 pounds of diesel
fuel, 482,000 pounds of
sulfuric acid, and 410,000
pounds of lead present at
their facilities.
Continued on page 2
n is found on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/enfalert/
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Enforcement Alert
Continued from page 1
more than 2,000 environmental viola-
tions that occurred at more than 600 of
their facilities.
These companies included Cincinnati
Bell Telephone Co., Cincinnati Bell Long
Distance, Convergys Customer Manage-
ment Group, Dallas MTA L.P., Houston
MTA L.P., PrimeCo Personal Commu-
nications, San Antonio MTA L.P, Cellco
Partnership and its affiliates doing busi-
ness as Bell Atlantic Mobile or Cellular
One, Southwestern Bell Telephone Com-
pany, United States Cellular Corp., US
West Communications Inc., AirTouch
Communications, Paging Network, Inc.,
BellSouth Corp., Western Wireless
Corp., VoiceStream Wireless Corp.,
and the Bell Atlantic Companies.
Because of their voluntary audit,
prompt disclosure and correction of
violations, and cooperative efforts to
resolve matters with EPA, the telecom-
munications companies received a 100
percent waiver of the gravity-based
penalties, totaling more than $6 million,
that otherwise could have been as-
sessed. These 17 companies combined
paid only $178,727 in penalties—the
amount of the economic
benefit they realized
through delayed compli-
ance. These penalties cap-
ture economic benefit, en-
suring that violators do not
obtain an unfair advantage
over their competitors.
pounds of diesel fuel, 482,000 pounds
of sulfuric acid, and 410,000 pounds of
lead present at their facilities.
EPA's Enforcement Action
Against MCI WorldCom,
Inc.
On March 7, 2000, under a settle-
ment finalized with EPA, MCI
WorldCom, Inc., agreed to conduct en-
vironmental compliance audits of its fa-
cilities nationwide and pay a penalty
of $625,000 to resolve 216 violations
of the EPCRA, CWA, and CAA at 153
of its facilities in 29 states and the Dis-
trict of Columbia.
In addition, the company has paid
$50,000 in stipulated penalties for
EPCRA Section 312 violations found
at 100 out of 233 facilities audited. The
company must still audit its WorldCom
facilities.
The settlement came after a 15-
month investigation of MCI Commu-
nications Corp. (WorldCom, Inc. merged
with MCI in September 1998 and became
known thereafter as "MCI WorldCom,
Inc.").
In their efforts to return
to compliance, these re-
sponsible companies have
ensured 156 facilities now
have Spill Prevention, Con-
trol, and Countermeasure
(SPCC) plans in place and
have reported to emer-
gency responders and plan-
ners more than one million
elecommunications Companies
Recently Self-Disclosing Violations to
EPA Under the 'Audit Policy': Cincinnati Bell
Telephone Co., Cincinnati Bell Long Distance,
Convergys Customer Management Group,
Dallas MTA L.P., Houston MTA L.P., PrimeCo
Personal Communications, San Antonio MTA
L.P., Cellco Partnership and its affiliates doing
business as Bell Atlantic Mobile or Cellular One,
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, United
States Cellular Corp., US West
Communications Inc., AirTouch
Communications, Paging Network, Inc., BellSouth
Corp., Western Wireless Corp., VoiceStream
Wireless Corp., and the Bell Atlantic
Companies.
The government charged that MCI
WorldCom, Inc., failed to submit reports
to states informing them of the presence
of sulfuric acid, diesel fuel and/or eth-
ylene glycol, as required by EPCRA, at
47 facilities in 17 states; applied late or
failed to obtain permits to construct or
install standby generators at 67 facilities
in seven states as required by CAA State
Implementation Plans; and violated
SPCC plan requirements at 46 facilities
in 25 states and the District of Colum-
bia by failing to prepare plans as required
by the CWA.
Environmental Laws
Applicable to Telecom
Industry
Telecommunications companies
should be aware of the following fed-
eral environmental requirements:
Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act:
EPCRA Sections 302-303 and 311-
312 require businesses to notify state
agencies and local fire departments of
certain chemicals at their facilities.
This information is critical to state and
local planning and response authorities
to protect communities and firefight-
ers in case of a chemical spill or re-
lease, and enhances community aware-
ness of chemical hazards in the local
area. Telecommunications operations
may have sulfuric acid-filled batteries,
as well as other chemicals such as die-
sel, lead, halon, and propane.
All forms of lead-acid batteries are
reportable. These include the newer
technology of valve-regulated or "gel
cell" batteries.
Under EPCRA Sections 302-303,
the Emergency Planning and Notification
Continued on page 3
June 2000
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Enforcement Alert
Continued from page 2
regulations, published at 40 CFR Part
355, facilities that produce, use, or store
any of the 356 extremely hazardous sub-
stances (EHS) in quantities above the
threshold planning quantity (TPQ) are
required to notify the appropriate State
Emergency Response Commission
(SERC) and the Local Emergency Plan-
ning Committee (LEPC) within 60 days
of becoming subject to this requirement.
The facility must designate an emergency
planning representative and an emergency
coordinator.
The information provided by the fa-
cility allows the LEPC or other des-
ignated local agencies to prepare an
emergency plan. The plan includes pro-
cedures to be followed in the case of
any release of a hazardous substance.
To find out whether the chemical(s)
and quantities that facilities have on site
meet the criteria, contact the EPCRA
hotline at 1-800-424-9346.
Under EPCRA Sections 311-312,
the Hazard Chemical Reporting, Com-
munity Right-to-Know regulations,
published at 40 CFR Part 370, facili-
ties that produce, use, or store hazard-
ous chemicals (as defined by the Oc-
cupational Safety and Health Act of
1970 (OSHA) in the Hazard Commu-
nication Standard (HCS), at 29 CFR
Section 1910.1200) in threshold quan-
tities (for EHSs 500 pounds or the sub-
stances' TPQ, whichever is less, and
10,000 pounds for all other hazardous
chemicals) are required to submit a
Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for
each chemical (one time) and an emer-
gency and hazardous chemical inven-
tory form (annually).
The owner or operator is required
under EPCRA Section 311 to submit a
MSDS to the SERC, LEPC and fire de-
partment that has jurisdiction over the
facility for each covered chemical, or
a list of such chemicals, within three
months of becoming subject to these re-
quirements, or within three months of
discovery of significant new information
concerning an aspect of a hazardous
chemical for which a
MSDS was previ-
ously submitted.
The owner or op-
erator is required
under EPCRA Sec-
tion 312 to submit an
emergency and haz-
ardous chemical in-
ventory form by
March 1 of each year for the preceding
calendar year to the SERC, LEPC, and
fire department that has jurisdiction over
the facility. States and designated local
agencies may require an earlier filing
period. In addition, states may impose
filing fees for reporting.
New reporters should contact their
local SERC and LEPC, or other desig-
nated agencies to determine what re-
porting form to use under this section.
Clean Water Act:
Section 311 of the Clean Water Act
requires businesses that handle, trans-
port or store oil or petroleum to pre-
pare and update written SPCC Plans.
Such plans are required to help prevent
or contain spills and keep hazardous
chemicals from polluting streams, riv-
ers and other bodies of water. Larger
telecommunications facilities (central
offices, mobile telephone switching
offices, and garages) may store fuel oil
for back-up generators or vehicle fleets.
The SPCC regulation, published at
40 CFR Part 112, applies to owners or
operators of non-transportation related
facilities if:
• The capacity of any above-
ground tank is in excess of 660 gal-
lons; or
• The total above-ground storage
is greater than 1,320 gallons; or
• The below-ground storage is
greater than 42,000 gallons; and
• Due to its location, the facility
could reasonably be expected to dischar-
II forms of lead-acid batteries are
, reportable. These include the newer
technology of valve-regulated or "gel cell"
batteries.
ge oil into the navigable waters of the
Unites States or adjoining shorelines.
Clean Air Act:
CAA Section 110 requires states to
submit implementation plans to imple-
ment, maintain, and enforce ambient
air quality standards and to include in
their implementation plans, regulation
of the modification and construction of
any stationary source within the area
covered by the plan.
States regulate construction by re-
quiring sources to obtain permits be-
fore constructing or installing any
source of pollution. Some states, how-
ever, have exempted smaller station-
ary sources, such as backup generators,
from these permitting requirements. In
Ohio, for example, generators of
greater than 50 horsepower that oper-
ate no more than 500 hours per year,
and burn gasoline, natural gas, distil-
late oil (with less than or equal to 0.5
percent by weight sulfur) or liquid pe-
troleum gas, are exempted by permit-
by-rule. This exemption is valid only as
long as the owner or operator collects
and maintains records described for each
air contaminant source exempted under
this rule and these monthly records are
retained in the files for a period of no
less than five years. The regulatory re-
Continued on page 4
June 2000
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United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
(2248A)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
'Enforcement Alert' newsletter
Useful Comoliance
Assistance Resources
OECA Homepage:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca
Office of Regulatory Enforcement:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore
Multimedia Enforcement Division:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/med/
index.html
Audit Policy Information:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/apolguid.html
Policy on Compliance Incentives For
Small Businesses:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/smbusi.html
EPCRA Hotline:
1-800-424-9346. For callers in the DC area,
please call (703) 412-9810. Also, the TDD
is (800) 553-7672
Compliance Assistance Centers:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/mfcac.html
Small Business Gateway:
http://www.epa.gov/smallbusiness
Continued from page 3
quirements for installing and operating
generators vary considerably by state.
Companies should check with their
state environmental department to de-
termine whether air permitting require-
ments apply.
In addition, the CAA regulates re-
frigerants such as chlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons
(HCFCs). These refrigerants may be
found in air conditioning units used to
cool sensitive equipment. Companies
should review their compliance with
these requirements found in Section 608
of the CAA and 40 CFR Part 82, Subpart
F.
Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act:
Under RCRA, Subtitle C, telephone
operations may result in the generation
of hazardous waste streams. Genera-
tors of hazardous waste are responsible
for properly identifying and managing
their hazardous waste program under
RCRA.
Telephone facilities that have un-
derground storage tanks may be subject
to RCRA, Subtitle I. Leaking under-
ground storage tanks (UST) can cause
contamination of ground water supplies
and possible fires, explosions and vapor
hazards. Owners and operators of under-
ground storage tanks must upgrade, re-
place or close existing substandard un-
derground storage tank systems by Dec.
22,1998. Upgrading may involve adding
spill, overfill and corrosion protection
to the UST.
For more information, contact
Philip L. Milton, Office of Regulatory
Enforcement, Multimedia Enforce-
ment Division, at (202) 564-5029,
Email: milton.philip@epa.gov.
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