The EPA wants a Cheshire aluminum processor to pay $158,000 in fines for illegally dumping as much as 6,000 gallons of cutting oil into a nearby watershed last summer — a spill that covered geese, swans and other wildlife with oil.
The spill occurred after a broken water tank inside Erickson Metals Corp. spewed water into the factory, said EPA spokesman Dave Deegan. The July 23, 2006, spill activated a sump pump which dumped the spilled water into another tank filled with cutting oil, a lubricant used on metal-cutting machine tools inside of factories.
That tank overflowed, sending thousands of gallons of cutting oil-tainted water into a nearby pond, Judd Brook and Tenmile River. Oil-coated animals living in or near the water had to be captured and washed, according to state and federal environmental officials.
In a written statement, Robert Stiles, vice president of Erickson, called the spill a “freak accident.” The EPA, in announcing the fine, “unfairly portrays an unwarranted negative impression and depiction” of how the spill happened, Stiles said.
According to Stiles, after discovering the burst tank, the company immediately hired an environmental clean-up firm to clean up the contaminated water, which never progressed beyond a small area in a pond adjacent to the property.
“The complaint issued by the EPA is unwarranted and unfair, particularly in view of its total cooperation and unblemished history,” he said. “The added costs and expenses in having to respond to the EPA complaint create an unfair penalty making it that much more difficult for this Connecticut-based company to compete in a global marketplace.”
The spill prompted an emergency response from the EPA, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and the local fire department.
Plan Lacking
The fine, which has not been sanctioned by any court, was levied against Erickson for failing to maintain a spill prevention plan, which is required by the Clean Water Act. Erickson had no plan — known in the industry as Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure plan — at the time of the spill.
An SPCC plan would have specified guidelines for what to do in the event of a spill, and ways to ensure oil spills do not reach bodies of water.
Erickson and the EPA said the company now has an SPCC in place.
The $157,700 fine for Erickson is the maximum statutory amount allowed under the Clean Water Act.
The EPA is allowed to propose a lower fine, but since the lack of a clean-up plan was discovered because of a spill, it looked at the violation more harshly, Deegan said.
The fee is not set until it’s adjudicated by an administrative judge, a decision that’s not expected for several months.
Connecticut companies which have substantial amounts of oil and other contaminants could increasingly find themselves at odds with the EPA.
