EPA v. ERAMET MARIETTA INC.

Case summary

U.S. EPA RECOMMENDS THE FILING OF A CIVIL COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AND CIVIL PENALTIES IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO, EASTERN DIVISION, AGAINST DEFENDANTS ERAMET MARIETTA INC. ( ERAMET ) AND ELKEM METALS COMPANY LP ( ELKEM )UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT, 33 U.S.C.  1251-1387. ERAMET OWNS AND OPERATES A FERRO-ALLOY MANUFACTURING ADJA- CENT TO THE OHIO RIVER IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, OHIO APPROXI- MATELY FOUR MILES SOUTHWEST OF MAREITTA, OHIO. ELKEM OWNED AND OPERATED THE FACILITY FROM 1981 UNTIL JUNE 30, 1999, WHEN ELKEM TRANSFERRED OWNERSHIP OF THE FACILITY TO ERAMET. THE FACILITY PRODUCES MANGANESE BASED FERRO ALLOYS, ELECTRO- LYTIC CHROMIUM AND MANGONESE, LOW CARBON CHROMIUM PRODUCTS AND HARDENER BRIQUETTES USED IN THE ALUMINUM INDUSTRY. NPDES PERMIT VIOLATIONS. ERAMET AND ELKEM VIOLATED THE NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM ( NPDES ) PERMIT ISSUED UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT FOR THE FACILITY. IN PARTICULAR, ELKEM AND ERAMET VIOLATED EFFLUENT LIMITATION S FOR HEXAVALENT CHROMIUM, TOTAL CHROMIUM, TOTAL SUSPENDED SOLIDS ( TSS ), CARBONACEOUS BIOLOGICAL OXYGEN DEMAND ( CBOD ), AND TOXICITY. IN ADDIITON, NUMEROUS SPILLS OF WASTE- WATER OCCURRED, IN VIOLATION OF THE NPDES PERMIT. ALSO, ERAMET'S AND ELKEM'S UNPERMITTED USE OF SODIUM DIMETHLDITHIO CARBAMATE RESULTED IN NUMEROUS VIOLATIONS OF NARRATIVE STAN- DARDS OF THE NPDES PERMIT. SIGNIFICANTLY, BEGINNING IN JUNE 1999, LARGE FISH AND NATIVE MUSSEL KILLS OCCURRED IN THE OHIO RIVER RELATED TO THE FACILITY'S DISCHARGE, IN VIOLATION OF THE NPDES PERMIT'S GENERAL CONDITION PROHIBITING THE DIS- CHARGE OF SUBSTANCES IN AMOUNTS HARMFUL TO AQUATIC LIFE. SPCC VIOLATIONS. ERAMET VIOLATED THE SPILL PREVENTION CONTROL AND COUNTERMEASURE ( SPCC ) REGULATIONS AT 40 CFR PART 112, PROMULGATED UNDER SECTION 311(J) OF THE CLEAN WATER ACT (ACT), 33 U.S.C.  1321, WHICH GOVERN THE PREPARA- TION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SPCC PLANS. IN PARTICULAR, ERA- MET'S SPCC PLAN CONTAINED INADEQUATE CERTIFICAITON LANGUAGE AND FAILED TO PROVIDE SECONDARY CONTAINMENT FOR ALL ABOVE GROUND STORAGE TANKS AND TRUCK LOADING AND UNLOADING STAITON S. U.S. EPA RECOMMENDS THE FILING OF A CIVIL COMPLAINT FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF AND CIVIL PENALITES IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO, EASTERN DIVISION, AGAINST DEFENDANTS ERAMET MARIETTA INC. ( ERAMET ) AND ELKEM METALS COMPANY LP ( ELKEM ) UNDER THE CLEAN WATER ACT, 33  1251-1387. IN DECEMBER 2000 U.S. EPA CONDUCTED ADDITIONAL SAMPLING OF THE ERAMET FACILITY. ON FEB. 6, 2002 EPA COMPLETED A PERFORMANCE AUDIT OF ERAMET'S LABORATORIES. U.S. EPA IS WORKING WITH U.S FWS TO DEVELOP EVIDENCE REGARDING FISH AND MUSSEL KILLS. U.S. DOJ PLANS TO PROCEED WITH CWA, POTENTIAL RCRA, AND NATURAL RESOURCE CLAIMS SIMULTANEOUSLY, ONCE ALL OF THE CASES ARE READY.

Defendants (3)

• ERAMET MARIETTA INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• ELKEM METALS LPNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• Elkem MetalsNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• ERAMET MARIETTA INC.

  STATE RT 7, S RIVERVIEW RD, MARIETTA, OH, 45750

  Registry ID: 110000741966

• ERAMET MARIETTA INC.

  STATE RT 7, S RIVERVIEW RD, MARIETTA, OH, 45750

  Registry ID: 110000741966

Statutes cited

• CWA 311J — SPCC and/or Federal Response Plan Violations
• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• ERAMET MARIETTA INC.entered 2006-04-19

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $750,000 · SEP: $2,040,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2000-09-26Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2000-09-27Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2003-06-10Complaint Filed With Court
• 2006-04-19Final Order Entered
• 2006-04-19Final Order Lodged