United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Enforcement
and Compliance
Assurance (2201A)
EPA 300-N-99-017
C/EPA Enforcement Alert
Volume 2, Number 10
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
November 1999
Airlines Must Comply With Federal Fuel Standards,
Stormwater and Spill Prevention Requirements, and
Report Emergency Releases
F^he U.S. Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) and AMR
-M- Corporation (American Airlines)
entered into a settlement that is ex-
pected to eliminate nearly 700 tons of
pollutants from the air annually.
In a settlement under EPA's "Audit
Policy," American Airlines disclosed to
About
Enforcement Alert
"Enforcement Alert" \
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 3 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 or subscription
requests for this newsletter.)
EPA violations of Section 211 (federal
fuel standards) of the Clean Air Act dis-
covered at 10 of its facilities. The dis-
closures were a result of the airlines'
voluntary audit of its facilities at 150
airports.
Under the terms of the settlement
with the Texas-based airline, EPA cut
total penalties by more than 90 percent
for violations that the airline voluntar-
ily disclosed and promptly corrected.
The company also agreed to additional
pollution reduction measures at
Boston's Logan airport.
The American Airlines settlement
serves as a model for national compa-
nies that want to come forward to re-
solve multiple federal environmental
violations at one time.
Clean Air Act Prohibits Use
of High-Sulfur Diesel Fuel
in Vehicles
In its disclosures to EPA, Ameri-
can Airlines reported the use of a high-
sulfur fuel in motor vehicles at 10 ma-
jor airports around the country, includ-
ing JFK in New York and O'Hare in
Chicago. The violations occurred dur-
ing October 1993 to July 1998.
Section 211 of the Clean Air Act
prohibits the knowing use in any mo-
tor vehicle of diesel fuel that contains
a concentration of sulfur in excess of
0.05 percent (by weight). In addition,
the diesel fuel regulations in 40 C.F.R.
Part 80 prohibit dispensing, selling, sup-
plying, offering for sale or supply,
transporting, or introducing into com-
merce diesel fuel for use in motor ve-
hicles unless the diesel fuel has a sul-
fur percentage, by weight, of no greater
than 0.05 percent.
Violators are subject to a civil pen-
alty of $27,500 per day for each viola-
tion and the amount of the economic
benefit or savings resulting from the
violation.
Audit Policy Settlement
Benefits Public Health,
Environment, Industry
EPA's Audit Policy, formally known
as "Incentives for Self-Policing: Dis-
covery, Disclosure, Correction and Pre-
vention of Violations" 60 Fed. Reg.
66706 (Dec. 22,1995), was developed
as an incentive for companies to con-
duct self-audits to determine compli-
ance with environmental laws. When
applicable, the policy substantially re-
duces and, in many cases, eliminates,
penalties for violations discovered and
corrected by a company.
Because of its voluntary audit,
prompt disclosure and correction of
violations, and cooperative efforts to
resolve this matter with EPA, Ameri-
can Airlines received a 100 percent
waiver of the gravity-based penalties,
potentially totaling $1.4 million, that oth-
erwise could have been assessed.
American Airlines paid only a
$95,000 penalty, the amount of the eco-
nomic benefit it realized through non-
compliance. A penalty that captures
economic benefit ensures that the vio-
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
lator does not obtain an unfair advan-
tage over its competitors.
American Airlines also agreed to
purchase 12 electric-powered belt load-
ers to replace existing gas-powered
loaders at Logan airport, an improve-
ment expected to eliminate nearly 700
tons of pollutants from the air at Lo-
gan Airport annually.
The new belt loaders at Logan are
expected to remove annually the fol-
lowing pollutants from the air: 644 tons
of carbon monoxide, the equivalent of
removing 11,000 cars from the roads;
21 tons of volatile organic com-
pounds-the equivalent of 3,100 cars;
15 tons of nitrogen oxides—the equiva-
lent of 2,300 cars; and 420 pounds of
particulate matter—the equivalent of
160 cars (these comparisons are based
on cars meeting 1999 emissions stan-
dards).
Logan Airport was not one of the
airports where the violations occurred,
but was chosen to receive the new belt-
loaders because it has newer electrical
circuitry that can support the electrical
loaders.
Companies interested in an ad-
vanced understanding about meeting
certain Clean Air Act conditions of the
policy are encouraged to contact Leslie
Jones, EPA's National Audit Policy
Coordinator, at (202) 564-5123.
Federal Reporting
Requirements
Airlines should be aware of the fol-
lowing federal environmental require-
ments, as well as others, that may af-
fect their facilities. For example, air-
lines may be required to report emer-
gency releases of hazardous chemicals
and/or may be required to have and
implement a Spill Prevention Control
and Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan and
Facility Response Plan.
The American Airlines Audit Policy
settlement serves as a model for national
companies that want to come forward to resolve
multiple federal environmental violations at one
time.
Section 103 of the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and
Liability Act (CERCLA) requires the
person in charge of a facility to
immediately notify the National
Response Center when a release into
the environment of certain hazardous
substances occurs at levels equal to or
greater than designated reportable
quantities.
Section 101(9) of CERCLA has a
broad definition of "facility" that in-
cludes motor vehicles, aircraft, or
"any site or area where a hazardous
substance has been deposited, stored,
disposed of, or placed, or otherwise
come to be located." The person in
charge of each facility, including the
one in charge of the de-icing truck, air-
plane or airport, is responsible for en-
suring that releases from his facilities
are properly and accurately reported.
The persons in charge of the different
facilities may coordinate their actions
to ensure proper reporting—either in-
dependently or as aggregated and re-
ported by the airport. The person in
charge of each facility, however, is li-
able for any failure to comply with these
reporting obligations, including when
he has relied upon someone else to re-
port the release.
Releases of hazardous substances
that are continuous and stable in quan-
tity and rate may qualify for reduced
reporting under the CERCLA and
EPCRA continuous release reporting
regulations, published at 40 CFR 302.8.
In addition, releases that are federally
permitted (as defined in CERCLA) are
exempt from CERCLA and EPCRA re-
porting requirements. Releases that are
in full compliance with a Clean Water
Act (CWA) stormwater permit, for ex-
ample, are exempt from CERCLA and
Emergency Planning and Community
Right-To-Know Act reporting. Storm-
water permits, however, contain inde-
pendent reporting and prevention re-
quirements. The CWA Section 311 re-
porting exemption for CWA permitted
discharges is further described in regu-
lations set forth at 40 CFR 117.12.
Section 304 of the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-To-
Know Act (EPCRA) also requires the
owner or operator of a facility to im-
mediately notify State Emergency Re-
sponse Commissions (SERCs) and
Local Emergency Planning Committees
(LEPCs) of releases of reportable quan-
tities of hazardous substances or des-
ignated "extremely hazardous sub-
stances."
EPCRA may also require a facility
to submit Material Safety Data Sheets
(MSDS) and inventory forms with
SERCs, LEPCs and local fire depart-
ments. When the Occupational Safety
and Health Act and related regulations
require regulated entities to prepare or
have available an MSDS, and the use
or storage of a chemical meets a des-
ignated threshold, EPCRA Sections
311 and 312 may require the submis-
sion an MSDS or list of chemicals and
an annual emergency and hazardous
Continued on page 3
NOVEMBER 1999
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Enforcement Alert
Continued from page 2
chemical inventory form (referred to
as a "Tier I" or "Tier II" form). These
requirements allow emergency re-
sponders to plan for an accident and
have the necessary protective equip-
ment and training should an accident
occur.
Airlines may also be liable under the
Clean Water Act for any unpermit-
ted discharge, or discharge in violation
of any permit, into waters of the United
States. This includes discharges via
separate storm sewer systems and may
include discharges from de-icing, fu-
eling and maintenance activities. Fail-
ure to comply with stormwater and
other CWA permitting obligations, in-
cluding monitoring and reporting, could
subject facilities to substantial penal-
ties.
Section 311 of the Clean Water
Act also prohibits the discharge of oil
or petroleum and hazardous sub-
stances into waters of the United States
and adjoining shorelines, unless the dis-
charge is in compliance with a CWA
permit. Spills of oil or hazardous sub-
stances may not qualify under the Au-
dit Policy for a variety of reasons (e.g.,
accidental spills are likely to be discov-
ered immediately and not as the result
of a voluntary audit).
Regulations under Section 311 (j) of
the CWA, published at 40 CFR112, may
require a facility to have and implement
a Spill Prevention Control and Coun-
termeasure (SPCC) Plan and Facility
Response Plan (FRP). The SPCC and
FRP regulations apply to owners or op-
erators of non-transportation related
facilities that have discharged or, due
to their location or size, could reason-
ably be expected to discharge oil in
harmful quantities into or upon the navi-
gable waters of the United States or
adjoining shorelines.
Some transportation-related facili-
ties or activities may have non-trans-
portation-related components that must
comply with SPCC and FRP require-
NOVEMBER1999
ments. Some examples of fixed com-
ponents that require SPCC and FRP
compliance include oil storage facili-
ties such as fixed bulk plant storage,
terminal storage facilities, consumer
storage, pumps and drainage systems
used in the storage of oil. Airlines must
operate their oil storage facilities in
compliance with any required plans and
permits. EPA has concluded a number
of settlements under the Audit Policy
that greatly reduce penalties for com-
panies that voluntarily disclose and cor-
rect their failure to have adequate SPCC
plans.
In addition to the requirements high-
lighted in this issue, airlines also may
be subject to other environmental re-
quirements, such as the Resource Con-
servation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
hazardous waste regulations and un-
derground storage tank regulations.
For more information, contact J.L.
Adair, Office of Regulatory Enforcement
(ORE), Air Enforcement Division, (202)
564-1011, Email: adair.jocefyn@epa.gov;
CherylRose, ORE, Water Enforcement Di-
vision, (202)564-4136, Email:
rose.cheryl@epa.gov; Leslie Jones, ORE,
National Audit Policy Coordinator,
(202)564-5123, Email:
jones. leslie@epa.gov.
ERA'S Y2K Enforcement
Policy
EPA's "Y2K Enforcement Policy is
designed to encourage the expeditious
testing of computer associated hard-
ware and software that may be poten-
tially vulnerable to Y2K problems.
Under this policy, which was pub-
lished in the Federal Register on March
10, 1999, EPA intends to waive 100
percent of the civil penalties and rec-
ommend against criminal prosecution
for environmental violations resulting
from Y2K testing designed to identify
and eliminate Y2K-related malfunctions.
To receive the policy's benefits (e.g.,
waiver of penalties due to testing), regu-
lated entities must address specific cri-
teria and conditions identified in the
policy. For more information about
EPA's Y2K Enforcement Policy, con-
tact Gary Jonesi, Office of Regula-
tory Enforcement, (202) 564-4002 or
E-mail: jonesi.gary@jepa.gov.
Useful Corrmliance
Assistance Resources
EPA Website:
http://www.epa.gov
Office of Enforcement and
Compliance Assurance:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore.html
EPA Compliance Assistance
Centers:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/mfcac.html
Small Business Gateway:
http://www.epa/gov/smallbusiness
EPA's Year 2000 website:
http://www.epa.gov/year2000
EPA's Y2K Enforcement Policy:
http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-
GENERAL/1999/March/Day-10/
g5958.htm
EPA Audit Policy:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
apolguid.html
Audit Policy Update:
http://www.epa.gov/oeca/ore/
apolguid.html
EPA's Small Business Policy:
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
Transportation Environmental
Resource Center:
http://www.transource.org
Stratospheric Ozone Information
Hotline: (800) 296-1996
Air Risk Information Support
Center Hotline: (919) 541-0888
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Enforcement Alert
c/EPA
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Regulatory Enforcement
2248A
Washington, D.C. 20460
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use $300
Self Audit Policy and Disclosures: CAA: J. L. Adair, Air Enforcement Division, (202) 564-0011; CWA, EPCRA/
CERCLA: Cheryl Rose, Water Enforcement Division, (202) 564-4136; Audit Policy: Leslie Jones, Office of
Regulatory Enforcement, (202) 564-5123
Effluent Guideline on Metal Products and Machinery: Steve Geil, Office of Water, (202) 260-9817
RCRA Manifest Rule: Rich Lashier, Office of Solid Waste & Emergency Response, (703) 308-8796
Storm Water Program: George Utting, (202) 260-9530
Transportation Compliance Assistance Center: Virginia Lathrop, Office of Compliance, (202) 564-7057
Vehicle Repair Shop Checklist: Julie Tankersley, Office of Compliance, (202) 564-7002
Letter of Explanation to Airline Industry on De-icing: Virginia Lathrop, Office of Compliance, (202)564-7057
Fuel for Thought (Pamphlet for vehicle maintenance shops): Elson Lim, (202) 564-7006
Assistance on Environmental Compliance Issues for Auto Repair Shops: Everett Bishop, (202)564-7032
Recycled/Recyclable. Printed with Soy/Canola Ink on paper that contains at least 30% recycled fiber
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