EPA announces summary of Pacific Northwest and Alaska enforcement actions for Fall 2011

(Seattle – February 2, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed 26 enforcement actions from October through December 2011 to ensure individuals, businesses and governments are complying with environmental regulations. The EPA’s compliance assistance programs help people understand and follow federal environmental laws. Enforcement deters those who might otherwise profit from violating the law and levels the playing field with environmentally compliant companies. Protecting human health and the environment is the ultimate objective.

Below is a summary table of EPA’s enforcement actions during the first quarter of federal fiscal year 2012 (October – December 2011). An important component of EPA’s enforcement activities, and a key way to deter misconduct, is to assess penalties for violations. For the cases where EPA assessed penalties, the penalty amount is listed in the table. EPA Region 10 assessed a total of $540,480 in penalties during the first quarter. Penalty amounts may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the magnitude of the violation, how quickly the violations are corrected, and whether there are past violations. Compliance Orders direct the violator to bring their activities back into compliance with environmental laws, and may not include penalties.

October 1 – December 31, 2011

State	City of violation	Date issued/ filed	Respondent	Description of Alleged Violation	Penalty amount
AK	Anchorage	11/04/11	Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$6,000
ID	Idaho Falls	12/13/11	City of Idaho Falls	Exceeding discharge permit limits at the City’s wastewater treatment plant, including ammonia and E. coli limits. (CWA)*	N/A (compliance order)
ID	Pocatello	10/13/11	Harris, Inc.	Deficiencies in stormwater plans and controls during construction of a new building. (CWA)*	$7,000
ID	Pocatello	11/22/11	Frazier Industrial Company	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for 1, 2, 4-trimethylbenzene. (EPCRA)*	$4,100
OR	Albany	12/19/11	U.S. Department of Energy - National Energy Technology Laboratory	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$1,500
OR	Astoria	10/13/11	Da Yang Seafood, Inc.	Failure to maintain complete service and maintenance records for large refrigerated appliances that contain ozone-depleting substances. (CAA)*	$26,800
OR	Central Point	10/20/11	Grange Cooperative Supply Association	Sale and distribution of a misbranded pesticide product. (FIFRA)*	$57,040
OR	Eugene	11/22/11	Johnson Crushers International	Excess xylene air emissions. (CAA)*	$115,000 to the U.S. (additional penalty paid to local agency)
OR	Portland	11/03/11	McClure Industries, Inc.	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for styrene. (EPCRA)*	$3,800
OR	Warm Springs	11/18/11	Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation – Simnasho Schoolie water system	Arsenic levels above drinking water limits. (SDWA)*	N/A (compliance order)
WA	Auburn	11/03/11	Formula Corp.	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for glycol ethers. (EPCRA)*	$3,800
WA	Kent	11/23/11	Burlington Environmental LLC	Illegal storage and treatment of hazardous waste. (RCRA)*	$275,000
WA	Seattle	11/18/11	Avista Recycling, Inc.	Attempted illegal export of cathode ray tubes.(RCRA)*	$31,600
WA	Seattle	10/13/11	Northern Lights, Inc.	Import of marine engines without information required by the Clean Air Act.	$2,500
WA	Winlock	11/30/11	Philip and Kimberly Smith	Unauthorized discharge of dredged and fill materials into wetlands. (CWA)*	Contingent penalty of $200,000 if respondent violates Consent Decree terms.
AK ID OR WA	Kodiak and Fairbanks Gooding Canyonville Moses Lake, Royal City, Brewster, Ephrata	October- December 2011	Underground Storage Tank Facilities	Failure to conduct tests to detect or prevent releases to the environment. (RCRA)*	$6,340 for violations at 11 facilities.

   

* EPCRA – Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

CWA – Clean Water Act

CAA – Clean Air Act

RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SDWA – Safe Drinking Water Act

TRI – Toxic Release Inventory

EPA announces summary of Pacific Northwest and Alaska enforcement actions for Fall 2011

(Seattle – February 2, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed 26 enforcement actions from October through December 2011 to ensure individuals, businesses and governments are complying with environmental regulations. The EPA’s compliance assistance programs help people understand and follow federal environmental laws. Enforcement deters those who might otherwise profit from violating the law and levels the playing field with environmentally compliant companies. Protecting human health and the environment is the ultimate objective.

Below is a summary table of EPA’s enforcement actions during the first quarter of federal fiscal year 2012 (October – December 2011). An important component of EPA’s enforcement activities, and a key way to deter misconduct, is to assess penalties for violations. For the cases where EPA assessed penalties, the penalty amount is listed in the table. EPA Region 10 assessed a total of $540,480 in penalties during the first quarter. Penalty amounts may vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the magnitude of the violation, how quickly the violations are corrected, and whether there are past violations. Compliance Orders direct the violator to bring their activities back into compliance with environmental laws, and may not include penalties.

October 1 – December 31, 2011

State	City of violation	Date issued/ filed	Respondent	Description of Alleged Violation	Penalty amount
AK	Anchorage	11/04/11	Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$6,000
ID	Idaho Falls	12/13/11	City of Idaho Falls	Exceeding discharge permit limits at the City’s wastewater treatment plant, including ammonia and E. coli limits. (CWA)*	N/A (compliance order)
ID	Pocatello	10/13/11	Harris, Inc.	Deficiencies in stormwater plans and controls during construction of a new building. (CWA)*	$7,000
ID	Pocatello	11/22/11	Frazier Industrial Company	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for 1, 2, 4-trimethylbenzene. (EPCRA)*	$4,100
OR	Albany	12/19/11	U.S. Department of Energy - National Energy Technology Laboratory	Failure to comply with hazardous waste generator and universal waste management requirements. (RCRA)*	$1,500
OR	Astoria	10/13/11	Da Yang Seafood, Inc.	Failure to maintain complete service and maintenance records for large refrigerated appliances that contain ozone-depleting substances. (CAA)*	$26,800
OR	Central Point	10/20/11	Grange Cooperative Supply Association	Sale and distribution of a misbranded pesticide product. (FIFRA)*	$57,040
OR	Eugene	11/22/11	Johnson Crushers International	Excess xylene air emissions. (CAA)*	$115,000 to the U.S. (additional penalty paid to local agency)
OR	Portland	11/03/11	McClure Industries, Inc.	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for styrene. (EPCRA)*	$3,800
OR	Warm Springs	11/18/11	Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation – Simnasho Schoolie water system	Arsenic levels above drinking water limits. (SDWA)*	N/A (compliance order)
WA	Auburn	11/03/11	Formula Corp.	Failure to submit a timely Toxic Chemical Release Inventory (TRI) Reporting Form for glycol ethers. (EPCRA)*	$3,800
WA	Kent	11/23/11	Burlington Environmental LLC	Illegal storage and treatment of hazardous waste. (RCRA)*	$275,000
WA	Seattle	11/18/11	Avista Recycling, Inc.	Attempted illegal export of cathode ray tubes.(RCRA)*	$31,600
WA	Seattle	10/13/11	Northern Lights, Inc.	Import of marine engines without information required by the Clean Air Act.	$2,500
WA	Winlock	11/30/11	Philip and Kimberly Smith	Unauthorized discharge of dredged and fill materials into wetlands. (CWA)*	Contingent penalty of $200,000 if respondent violates Consent Decree terms.
AK ID OR WA	Kodiak and Fairbanks Gooding Canyonville Moses Lake, Royal City, Brewster, Ephrata	October- December 2011	Underground Storage Tank Facilities	Failure to conduct tests to detect or prevent releases to the environment. (RCRA)*	$6,340 for violations at 11 facilities.

   

* EPCRA – Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act

FIFRA – Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act

CWA – Clean Water Act

CAA – Clean Air Act

RCRA – Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

SDWA – Safe Drinking Water Act

TRI – Toxic Release Inventory

Williamsburg Woman Sentenced for Mail Fraud

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeFebruary 02, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Antoinette Reese, 46, of Williamsburg, Va., was sentenced today to 46 months’ imprisonment for mail fraud and 36 months’ imprisonment for filing a false tax return. She was also ordered to pay $829,687.00 in restitution.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Reese pled guilty on September 1, 2011.

According to court documents, Reese worked at a local travel company handling reservations for a Williamsburg Plantation. Both the travel company and Williamsburg Plantation are subsidiaries of the Berkley Group. The defendant handled the account of Ramada Plaza Resorts (RPR), a tourism company that would send customers to Williamsburg Plantation and pay for these accommodations, with a credited commission if the customer purchased a timeshare. In 2001, the defendant formed her own company AW Marketing. She began a false billing scheme whereby she obtained, between 2001 and 2009, over $800,000 from Ramada Plaza Resorts by double billing, billing for cancelled stays and billing for non-Williamsburg hotels. The defendant falsely portrayed to RPR that AW Marketing was a legitimate vendor of Williamsburg Plantation. The defendant failed to include the income from AW Marketing on her tax returns for 2002-2005 and included false and non-existent business expenses from 2006-2009.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Brian Samuels prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

Williamsburg Woman Sentenced for Mail Fraud

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeFebruary 02, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, VA—Antoinette Reese, 46, of Williamsburg, Va., was sentenced today to 46 months’ imprisonment for mail fraud and 36 months’ imprisonment for filing a false tax return. She was also ordered to pay $829,687.00 in restitution.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Robert G. Doumar. Reese pled guilty on September 1, 2011.

According to court documents, Reese worked at a local travel company handling reservations for a Williamsburg Plantation. Both the travel company and Williamsburg Plantation are subsidiaries of the Berkley Group. The defendant handled the account of Ramada Plaza Resorts (RPR), a tourism company that would send customers to Williamsburg Plantation and pay for these accommodations, with a credited commission if the customer purchased a timeshare. In 2001, the defendant formed her own company AW Marketing. She began a false billing scheme whereby she obtained, between 2001 and 2009, over $800,000 from Ramada Plaza Resorts by double billing, billing for cancelled stays and billing for non-Williamsburg hotels. The defendant falsely portrayed to RPR that AW Marketing was a legitimate vendor of Williamsburg Plantation. The defendant failed to include the income from AW Marketing on her tax returns for 2002-2005 and included false and non-existent business expenses from 2006-2009.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division. Assistant United States Attorney Brian Samuels prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

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