EPA v. Power Battery Co., Inc.

Case summary

This is a consolidated action pursuant to our Consolidated Rules of Practice (40 C.F.R. �22.18(b)(2) and (3)), which provide that a proceeding may be simultaneously commenced and concluded by the issuance of a Consent Agreement and Final Order when the parties agree to settle one or more causes of action before the filing of an Administrative Complaint. We settled the case in this manner. A review of the Toxic Release Inventory Envirofacts Database (TRI Database) indicated that the Respondent voluntarily submitted a Form R report for lead for the calendar year 1999 which was greater than one year late, and a Form R report for lead for the calendar year 2000 which was two months late. On March 28, 2003, a letter addressing the above late reporting violations was sent to the company in an effort to gain more insight into the circumstances concerning the above violations. As a result of phone conversations between Mr. Chris Picket, Environmental Health and Safety Coordinator and Ms. Mary A. Kowalski, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances Branch, it was determined that the Respondent had failed to submit timely Form R reports for lead to the Administrator of EPA and to the State of New Jersey for calendar years 1999 and 2000. Each failure to submit a Form R report, in a timely manner, constitutes a violation of Section 313 of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. �11023, and 40 C.F.R �372.30. The amount of the penalty was initially calculated using the Enforcement Response Policy (ERP) for Section 313 of EPCRA issued by the USEPA Office of Compliance Monitoring, Office of Pesticides and Toxic Substances, on August 10, 1992. The original proposed penalty would have been $18,700, if an administrative complaint had been issued.

Defendants (1)

• Power Battery Co., Inc.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• POWER BATTERY CO., INC.

  1065 MARKET ST., PATERSON, NJ, 07514

  Registry ID: 110000320215

Statutes cited

• EPCRA 313 — Toxic Chemical Release Reporting (TRI)

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Power Battery Co., Inc.entered 2003-06-20

  Primary law: EPCRA

  Federal penalty: $4,675

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2003-06-20Enforcement Action Closed
• 2003-06-20Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2003-06-20Final Order Issued
• 2003-07-08Enforcement Action Data Entered