Volume 2, Number 3
About
Enforcement Alert
The Enforcement Alert is
published periodically by
EPA's Office of Regulatory
Enforcement. It informs and
educates the public and
regulated community of
important environmental
enforcement issues, recent
trends and significant
enforcement actions.
This issue is published in
coordination with the Federal
Facilities Enforcement Office.
This information should help
the regulated community
anticipate and prevent
violations of federal
environmental lawthat could
otherwise lead to enforcement
action.
See Page 2 for useful EPA
Websites and additional
resources.
Eric V. Schaeffer, Director
Office of Regulatory
Enforcement
Craig E. Hooks, Director
Federal Facilities
Enforcement Office
Editor Virginia Bueno, (202) 564-8684.
bueno. Virginia @epamail. epa.gov.
Layout & Design: Phyllis Nimeroff
nimeroff.phyllis@epamail. epa.gov.
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
and Compliance
Assurance (2201A)
EPA 300-N-99-005
February 1999
Enforcement Alert
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EPA SETTLES FIRST SDWA
PENALTY CASE AGAINST
FEDERAL FACILITY FOR $900,000
W
hat the Law
States:
In settlement of the first Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA)
penalty case against a Federal facility,
the Army's Red-
stone Arsenal, in
Huntsville, Ala.
agreed on Dec. 10
to pay a cash pen-
alty of $80,000 and
spend $807,000 on
" If the Administrator finds
that a Federal agency has
violated an applicable
requirement under this
subchapter, the Administrator
may issue a penalty order
assessing a penalty against
the Federal agency." Safe
Drinking Water Act, Section
1447(b)(1)
bacteria, harmful to people, to flourish
in the water.
supplemental envi-
ronmental projects
(SEPs).
The settlement
resolves an en-
forcement action
initiated in April,
when EPA Region
4 filed an adminis-
trative penalty or-
der against the
U.S. Army Avia-
tion and Missile
Command, Red-
stone Arsenal, for violations of the
SDWA. The base was found to have
violated requirements of the law that
ensure the safety of the drinking wa-
ter for the 22,000 people at the Red-
stone Arsenal. Improper management
of a drinking water system can allow
This is the first
time the Agency has
imposed a SDWA
penalty against any
Federal agency.
The SDWA was
amended in 1996,
giving EPA penalty
authority against
Federal facilities for
the first time. The
Redstone settlement
is the largest drink-
ing water penalty in
Region 4 history.
This settle-
ment resolves viola-
tions uncovered dur-
ing a 1997 multi-me-
^^^^^^_ dia inspection at the
Redstone Arsenal.
The inspection and subsequent investi-
gation revealed that Redstone violated
the Surface Water Treatment Rule, To-
tal Coliform Rule, and Public Notifica-
tion Rule, including a maximum contami-
nant level (MCL) violation for total
— continued on back
The Federal Facilities Enforcement Office (FFEO) is responsible for
ensuring that Federal facilities take all necessary actions to prevent,
control, and abate environmental pollution.
http:/Avww. epa.gov/oeca/ore/enjalert
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Enforcement Alert
coliform (bacteria). Redstone failed
to properly operate and maintain its
storage tanks and reservoirs, a wa-
ter main flushing program, and main-
tain adequate disinfectant residual in
the distribution system to meet MCLs
for total coliform. The $807,000 in
SEPs developed as part of the settle-
ment includes improvements to
Redstone's water system.
The SEPs developed for Redstone
include the installation of a chlorine
monitoring system to enhance water
quality by allowing the facility to mea-
sure chlorine residual on an on-going
basis. In addition, operating computer
software for one of Redstone's water
treatment plants will be upgraded and
construction projects will address wa-
ter stagnation problems in some of the
supply lines. These SEPs will improve
Redstone's water system to help en-
sure the base's water supply is safe
while putting less water purification
disinfectant into the environment.
SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS
SEPs are environmentally beneficial projects that a defendant or
respondent agrees to undertake in the settlement of an enforce-
ment action, the performance of which is not otherwise legally required
of the defendant or respondent. EPA encourages the use of SEPs
which are consistent with the SEP Policy in settling enforcement actions,
including those at Federal facilities. For more information about the SEP
Policy, see EPA's SEP Policy website at: http://www.epa.gov/oeca/sep/.
Useful Resources
David Levenstein, OECA, FFEO:
(202) 564-2591;
levenstein.david@epamail.epa.gov
Mary-Kay Lynch, Dir., SRES, FFEO;
(202) 564-2574;
lynch.mary-kay@epamail.epa.gov
Adam Sowatzka, Region 4, Office
of Regional Counsel: (404)562-
9545; sowatzka.adam@epa.gov
Lisa Uhl, Region 4. Water Enforce-
ment Branch: (404) 562-9789;
uhl.lisa@epa.gov
Safe Drinking Water Hotline: (800)
426-4791 ;hotline-
sdwa@epamail.epa.gov
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance: http://
www.epa.gov/oeca/index.html
Federal Facilities Enforcement
Office: http://www.epa.gov/oeca/
fedfac/fflex.html
vvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
2201A
Washington, D.C. 20460
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