EPA v. MEDUSA CEMENT COMPANY

Case summary

IN JUNE OF 1991, A RELEASE OF APPROXIMATELY 20,000 GALLONS OF NUMBER 2 FUEL OIL OCCURRED AT MEDUSA'S CHARLEVOIX FACILITY. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE U.S. EPA REGION 5 OFFICE OF CHEMICAL EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AMD PREVENTION ( OCEPP ) CONDUCTED AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF THE FACILITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH EPCRA. BASED ON ITS FINDINGS DURING THE COURSE OF ITS INVESTIGATION, OCEPP ALLEGES THAT MEDUSA STORED AND/OR USED THREE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS (I.E., NUMBER 2 FUEL OIL, NUMBER 6 FUEL OIL AND DIETHYLENE GLYCOL) AS DEFINED BY SECTION 329(5) OF EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11049(5), IN QUANTITIES EXCEEDING THEIR TPQS OF 10,000 POUNDS, BUT THAT MEDUSA FAILED TO SUBMIT TO THE SERC MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS AND HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL INVENTORY FORMS FOR THE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS AS REQUIRED, RESPECTIVELY, BY SECTIONS 311 & 312 OF EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11021-11022. ON MAY 10, 1993, U.S. EPA FILED AN ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT (IN THE MATTER OF MEDUSA CEMENT COMPANY, EPCRA-023-93) AGAINST THE MEDUSA CEMENT COMPANY ( MEDUSA ), CHARLEVOIX, MICHIGAN, ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF SECTION 311 AND 312 OF THE EMERGENCY PLANNING AND COMMUNITY RIGHT-TO-KNOW ACT ( EPCRA ), 42 U.S.C. 11021-11022. PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF SECTION 325 OF EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. 11045, THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT SEEKS A TOTAL PENALTY AMOUNT OF $155,000 FOR MEDUSA'S ALLEGED FAILURE TO SUBMIT TO THE MICHIGAN STATE EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMISSION ( THE SERC ) MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEETS AND HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL INVENTORY FORMS FOR HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS THAT WERE STORED AND/OR USED AT MEDUSA'S FACILITY IN QUANTITIES EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE APPLICABLE THRESHOLD PLANNING QUANTITIES ( TPQS ) AS SET FORTH IN EPCRA AND THE REGULATIONS PROMULGATED THEREUNDER.

Defendants (1)

• MEDUSA CEMENT COPANYNamed in complaint

Facilities (2)

• SOUTHDOWN INCORPORATED

  16000 BELLS BAY RD., CHARLEVOIX, MI, 49720

  Registry ID: 110042084570

• SOUTHDOWN INCORPORATED

  16000 BELLS BAY RD., CHARLEVOIX, MI, 49720

  Registry ID: 110042084570

Statutes cited

• EPCRA 311 — Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
• EPCRA 312 — Emergency and Hazardous Chemical Inventory Forms

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• **PROPOSED SETTLEMENT**

  Primary law: EPCRA

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 1993-05-10Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 1993-05-10Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 1997-08-14Enforcement Action Closed