EPA v. ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS, LLC (ALLEGANY BALLISTICS LABORATORY)

Case summary

On May 17, 2021, the Regional Judicial Officer ratified a combined Complaint and Consent Agreement (CAFO) between EPA Region 3 and Alliant Techsystems Operations, LLC (Respondent), resolving CAA, RCRA and CWA violations at a Navy-owned facility in Keyser, WV. Respondent is a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrup Grumman Innovation Systems, LLC (a subsidiary of the Northrup Grumman Corporation) and is the operator of the Navy-owned Allegany Ballistics Laboratory, located in Keyser (Rocket Center), WV, which manufactures military products that include solid fuel rocket motors, explosive warheads, solid fuels and propellants. The Facility is a CAA major source and a RCRA Treatment, Storage, and Disposal facility that is a large quantity generator of hazardous waste. WVDEP has issued Respondent a CAA Title V Permit to Operate the Facility, a NPDES Water Pollution Control Permit and a RCRA Hazardous Waste Management permit, which also allows it to operate an open burning ground to treat hazardous waste propellants and explosives. Region 3 conducted a multimedia inspection of the Facility in June 2016, and subsequently accompanied WVDEP personnel on a 2019 annual RCRA compliance evaluation inspection of the facility. Alleged CAA Title V Permit violations included Respondent's failure to: conduct visual emission observations and paint booth fabric filter checks at regulated emission points; comply with air conditioning and refrigeration unit leak calculation and repair requirements; conduct SO2 emission calculations and SO2 weight emission testing for a coal fired boiler; and submit a timely report to the State after burning coal with an excess sulfur content. Alleged RCRA violations included Open Burning Grounds treatment of hazardous waste (HW) not identified in the Facility's HWM Permit, operation of areas of the Facility without a HWM permit and failures to: make proper waste determinations; conduct weekly container storage area inspections; amend the Facility Contingency Plan; transfer hazardous waste from a container in poor condition; maintain records and results of waste analyses; and to design, construct, maintain, and operate the Facility's Open Burning Grounds so as to minimize the possibility of unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of HW or HW constituents to soil or surface water which could threaten human health or the environment. Alleged CWA NPDES violations included Respondent?s failure to: conduct representative sampling to properly monitor perchlorate levels; comply with NPDES Permit sample test method detection level requirements when conducting perchlorate analyses; and comply with the Good Housekeeping requirements of its NPDES Permit by failing to address a spill of coal fines observed at the Facility. Alleged CWA SPCC violations included Respondent?s failure to amend its SPCC Plan to provide a complete list, description and diagram of all Facility fixed oil storage containers and/or to reflect the decommissioning, product service change or change in the operation and maintenance associated with fixed oil storage containers at the Facility. Respondent's representatives cooperated with the Region during its investigation and Respondent has agreed to take corrective actions to return the Facility Open Burning Grounds to full RCRA compliance pursuant to a RCRA Section 3008(a) Compliance Order that is incorporated into the CAFO. The CAFO additionally requires the Respondent to pay a civil penalty of $350,000 for the identified violations within 30 days of its June 16, 2021 effective date. The Region consulted with WVDEP throughout the course of this matter and WVDEP has expressed no objection to the EPA's actions.

Defendants (1)

• ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS, LLCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (8)

• ALLEGANY BALLISTICS LABORATORY (ABL)

  INTERSECTION OF SR 956 AND N. BR. POTOMAC RIVER, SHORT GAP, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS LLC, ALLEGANY BALLISTICS

  ALLEGHENY BALLISTICS LAB, ROCKET CENTER, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLEGANY BALLISTICS LABORATORY (ABL)

  INTERSECTION OF SR 956 AND N. BR. POTOMAC RIVER, SHORT GAP, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS LLC, ALLEGANY BALLISTICS

  ALLEGHENY BALLISTICS LAB, ROCKET CENTER, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS LLC, ALLEGANY BALLISTICS

  ALLEGHENY BALLISTICS LAB, ROCKET CENTER, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLEGANY BALLISTICS LABORATORY

  210 STATE ROUTE 956, KEYSER, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS LLC, ALLEGANY BALLISTICS

  ALLEGHENY BALLISTICS LAB, ROCKET CENTER, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

• ALLEGANY BALLISTICS LABORATORY

  210 STATE ROUTE 956, KEYSER, WV, 26726

  Registry ID: 110000345010

Statutes cited

• CWA 311B — Oil & Hazardous Substances Discharge
• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations
• RCRA 3005 — Permits for Treatment, Storage, or Disposal of Hazardous Waste
• RCRA 3002 — Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste
• CAA TITLE5 — Title V Permits

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• ALLIANT TECHSYSTEMS OPERATIONS, LLC (ALLEGANY BALLISTICS LABORATORY)entered 2021-05-17

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $350,000

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2021-05-17Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2021-05-17Final Order Issued
• 2021-08-24Enforcement Action Data Entered