EPA v. Prestolite Electric, Inc.

Case summary

The Consolidated Rules of Practice Governing the Administrative Assessment of Civil Penalties, Etc., 40 C.F.R. Part 22 (July 1, 2000), provide in 40 C.F.R. section 22.13(b) that when the parties agree to settle one or more causes of action before the filing of an Administrative Complaint, a proceeding may be simultaneously commenced and concluded by the issuance of a Consent Agreement and Final Order pursuant to 40 C.F.R. section 22.18(b)(2) and (3). the EPA intends to resolve this case in this manner. A review of the Toxic Release Inventory Envirofacts Database (TRI Database) indicated that the Respondent voluntarily submitted a Form R for certain glycol ethers for the calendar year 1998. On October 22, 2002, a letter addressing the above late reporting violation was sent to the company in an effort to gain more insight into the circumstances concerning the above violation. By letter dated December 2, 2002, Prestolite Electric, Inc. provided the requested information. Based on this information, it was determined that Prestolite Electric, Inc. had otherwise used (as defined in 40 C.F.R. section 372.3) greater than 10,000 pounds of certain glycol ethers during 1998. The Respondent was required to submit the Form R by July 1, 1999 for calendar year 1998 to the Administrator of EPA and to the State of New York. This failure to submit the Form R report, in a timely manner, constitutes a violation of Section 313 of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. section 11023, and 40 C.F.R section 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 was $18,700

Defendants (1)

• Prestolite Electric, Inc.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (3)

• PRESTOLITE ELECTRIC INC

  400 MAIN STREET, ARCADE, NY, 14009

  Registry ID: 110000326362

• PRESTOLITE ELECTRIC INC

  400 MAIN STREET, ARCADE, NY, 14009

  Registry ID: 110000326362

• PRESTOLITE ELECTRIC INC

  400 MAIN STREET, ARCADE, NY, 14009

  Registry ID: 110000326362

Statutes cited

• EPCRA 313 — Toxic Chemical Release Reporting (TRI)

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Prestolite Electric, Inc.entered 2003-03-03

  Primary law: EPCRA

  Federal penalty: $4,675

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2003-03-03Enforcement Action Closed
• 2003-03-03Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2003-03-03Final Order Issued
• 2003-03-11Enforcement Action Data Entered