EPA v. HARRELLS LLC (NC)

Case summary

On December 19, 2013, the Environmental Appeals Board (EAB) approved a CAFO in a national case led by Region 1 that initiates and resolves administrative penalty claims against Harrell’s, LLC for FIFRA violations. Under the settlement, Harrell’s must pay a civil penalty of $1,736,560 within 30 days, one of the largest civil penalties ever paid in a FIFRA case. The majority of the violations involve the distribution or sale of “misbranded” pesticides, the most serious of which were over 350 instances of distributing or selling pesticides without labels or with labels that were entirely illegible. Others involve distributing or selling pesticides in violation of a prior-issued “stop sale order” and producing large amounts of pesticides for years at the Harrell’s facility in Sylacauga, Alabama before that location was registered and required to report to EPA, under FIFRA Section 7, as a pesticide-producing establishment. Harrell’s produces and sells large volumes of fertilizers mixed with pesticides (either herbicides or insecticides) that are used mainly for golf courses, but also for landscaping, horticulture, and turf applications. Harrell’s operates production facilities at Sylacauga and at its headquarters in Lakeland, Florida, as well as multiple distribution centers in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. This case was developed by EPA Region 1, with substantial support from EPA-Headquarters/WCED, Regions 3, 4, and 5, and from various state partners.

Defendants (1)

• HARRELLS LLCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• HARRELLS LLC

  34 EXECUTIVE DRIVE, DANBURY, CT, 06810-4190

  Registry ID: 110046310327

Statutes cited

• FIFRA 12A1A — Unregistered Pesticide

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• HARRELL'S LLC (NC) (LEAD) -No NLPsentered 2013-12-19

  Primary law: FIFRA

  Federal penalty: $1,736,560

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2013-12-19Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2013-12-19Final Order Issued
• 2014-06-03Enforcement Action Data Entered