EPA v. CARROLL COUNTY

Case summary

Carroll County has settled alleged violations of regulations designed to protect America’s waterways from polluted storm water runoff, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced. In an administrative consent agreement with EPA, Carroll County has agreed to pay a $40,000 civil penalty to settle alleged Clean Water Act violations of the County’s general CWA national pollution discharge elimination system (NPDES) permit for stormwater discharges from the County’s municipal separate storm sewer system (MS4). EPA’s stormwater regulations were intended to control pollution from diffuse sources, such as runoff from agricultural sites, urban areas, construction sites, land disposal and resource extraction, which were not considered point sources of pollution but nevertheless contributed to water quality impairment. Runoff from these diffuse sources flow into stormwater collection systems, which discharge into rivers and streams without first going through a publically owned sewage treatment plant. EPA’s stormwater regulations require municipalities to obtain NPDES permits for their MS4s, and to develop a stormwater control program for their stormwater collection systems in order to reduce the pollutants entering the collection systems. For more information about EPA=s storm water program, visit http://www.epa.gov/npdes/stormwater EPA cited Carroll County for several failures in the administration of its stormwater collection system program. EPA found that the County had failed to identify and map all stormwater outfalls, failed to develop and implement procedures to inspect active construction sites on a bi-weekly basis, failed to ensure that all County facilities were properly permitted and inspected for compliance with their stormwater pollution prevention plans, and failed to develop a hotline for residents to report illicit stormwater discharges. In addition to the penalty, Carroll County previously signed an administrative order which included a schedule for correction of the cited violations. As part of the settlement, Carroll County did not admit liability for the alleged violations, but has stated that it is now in compliance with applicable Clean Water Act requirements.

Defendants (1)

• CARROLL COUNTYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• CARROLL COUNTY MUNICIPAL SEPAR

  225 NORTH CENTER STREET, WESTMINSTER, MD, 21157-5108

  Registry ID: 110006615421

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• CARROLL COUNTYentered 2014-06-06

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $40,000

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2014-06-06Final Order Issued
• 2014-06-06Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2014-07-01Enforcement Action Data Entered