EPA v. Utica Corporation

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 this case in this manner. A review of the Toxic Release Inventory Envirofacts Database (TRI Database) indicated that the Respondent voluntarily submitted Form R reports for nitric acid and hydrogen fluoride for the calendar year 1999 which were 111 days late. On March 7, 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. By phone conversations on March 13 and 17, 2003, Utica Corporation provided the requested information. Based on this information, it was determined that the Utica Corporation had ?otherwise used? (as defined in 40 C.F.R. ? 372.3) greater than 10,000 pounds of nitric acid and hydrogen fluoride during 1998. The Respondent was required to submit the 1998 Form R reports by July 1, 1999 to the Administrator of EPA and to the State of New York. This failure to submit the Form R reports, 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 $20,493 if an administrative complaint had been issued. The case settled for $5,123 which represents a penalty mitigation of 75% as offered under Region 2's Late Reporter Initiative

Defendants (1)

• Utica CorporationNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• UTICA CORP

  8273 HALSEY RD., WHITESBORO, NY, 13492

  Registry ID: 110000325915

• UTICA CORP

  8273 HALSEY RD., WHITESBORO, NY, 13492

  Registry ID: 110000325915

Statutes cited

• EPCRA 313 — Toxic Chemical Release Reporting (TRI)

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Utica Corporationentered 2003-04-21

  Primary law: EPCRA

  Federal penalty: $5,123

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2003-04-21Final Order Issued
• 2003-04-21Enforcement Action Closed
• 2003-04-21Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2003-04-24Enforcement Action Data Entered