EPA v. BRISTOL TOWNSHIP

Case summary

On September 7, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania entered the Second Amendment of Consent Decree in the Matter of U.S. and Commonwealth of PA v. Bristol Township, Civil No. 2:10-cv-05049-WY (E.D.) The original Consent Decree, entered in January 2011, required Bristol to remedy violations of Sections 301 and 402 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ?? 1311 and 1342, and Sections 201and 202 of the Clean Streams Law, 35 P.S. ?? 691.201 and 691.202 (?CSL?), after failing to comply with its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (?NPDES?) permit administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (?PADEP?) under the CWA and CSL. Bristol should have begun work under the Consent Decree in July 2012 with the completion of an Evaluation of Treatment Alternatives (?ETA?), followed by completion and implementation of a Capital Improvement Plan (?CIP?), the construction of which should have been completed in 2015. However, serious administrative and personnel management issues and serial issues that plagued plant operations such as a recurring hydraulic overload resulted in the parties First Amendment to Consent Decree in 2014, extending the deadlines for Bristol to complete the ETA and subsequent construction upgrades to the Facility. Again, Bristol failed to meet its deadlines, finally providing the ETA in the summer of 2018. The delay was partially due to Bristol?s decision to pursue a waiver of certain permitting provisions that required the approval of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), an entity outside the NPDES permitting scheme but which controls effluent standards for CBOD20 and other releases to the Delaware River. After an additional 18 months, DRBC granted the waiver and the parties were in agreement on how to modify the Consent Decree. The facility met with additional complications when legacy contaminants were discovered buried on Site, a relic of the former Rohm and Haas superfund site adjacent to the Bristol plant. Bristol is in the process of removing these legacy contaminants and seeking recovery for the removal from the former facility owners. The proposed revision to the CD resets the construction timeline for a new clarifier to be completed by May 1, 2024, and for EPA to review both the outcome of that construction and the impact of Bristol?s ongoing I&I improvement efforts regarding hydraulic loading and other permit requirements in 2026. Bristol has agreed to pay stipulated penalties in the amount of $99,800 accrued for failure to timely submit the ETA, and for SSOs and other effluent violations. PADEP has been a partner and co-plaintiff in this matter since its inception

Defendants (1)

• BRISTOL TOWNSHIPNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• BRISTOL TWP STP

  1800 RIVER ROAD, CROYDON, PA, 19021

  Registry ID: 110000573102

• BRISTOL TWP STP

  1800 RIVER ROAD, CROYDON, PA, 19021

  Registry ID: 110000573102

Statutes cited

• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• BRISTOL TOWNSHIPentered 2022-09-12

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $99,800

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2013-03-11Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2013-03-19Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2022-06-29Complaint Filed With Court
• 2022-09-07Final Order Lodged
• 2022-09-12Final Order Entered