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 ;i:^iiiki^Jid.t;.i^j..y.;i:i.i.iirarfaHgiirf:MiiiJtJJdi.w.T^j.ffama 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 ------- 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 Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300 Bulk Rate Postage and Fees Paid EPA Permit No. G-35 Recycled/Recyclable Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper that contains at least 50% recycled fiber ------- |