EPA v. American Gilsonite Company Bonanza Mine

Case summary

The United States and American Gilsonite Company (AGC) have agreed to settle multiple violations of AGC?s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit, including effluent limitation exceedances that have been occurring since 2012, and associated reporting violations, for $516,500. On September 9, 2019, a Stipulation and Order of Dismissal was filed to resolve the matter rather than a consent decree, because AGC has taken corrective measures to achieve compliance with its NPDES permit. AGC operates a Gilsonite mine in Bonanza, Utah on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. AGC pumps mine dewatering effluent from its Gilsonite mine and discharges it to Coyote Wash, a tributary to the Colorado River, pursuant to the NPDES permit. AGC has violated certain terms and conditions of the NPDES permit. In 2015, AGC entered an Administrative Order on Consent (?Consent Order?) with EPA. The Consent Order required AGC to evaluate its options for complying with the NPDES permit and then submit a compliance plan to EPA. Following its evaluation of compliance options, AGC selected the use of an underground injection control (?UIC?) well to comply with the NPDES permit. AGC needed a UIC permit from EPA to construct and operate the UIC well. Based on the regional data available, neither AGC nor EPA expected the UIC well?s proposed injection site, within the Bird?s Nest Aquifer (?BNA?), to be an Underground Source of Drinking Water (?USDW?). In order to determine whether a USDW was in fact present, the UIC permit required AGC to submit a site-specific water sample from the injection site before receiving authorization to use the UIC well for injection. After completing construction of the UIC well, AGC collected samples from the injection site. The results of this sampling indicated the injection site met the regulatory definition of a USDW because it has total dissolved solids (?TDS?) below 10,000 mg/L. Following receipt of the samples provided by AGC, EPA notified AGC that it considered the BNA at the proposed injection site to be a USDW and that, as a result, AGC would need an ?aquifer exemption? to use the UIC well. In 2016, AGC requested an aquifer exemption pursuant to the criteria set forth in 40 C.F.R. ? 146.4. This request was denied in July 2017. AGC appealed the denial of its aquifer exemption request. Following the appeal, AGC, in consultation with EPA, conducted additional modeling of the BNA in and around the proposed injection site to determine the extent of the injectate plume and to assure that the injectate will stay within the area of the BNA proposed for exemption. In December 2018, AGC submitted a new aquifer exemption request based on the results of the additional modeling. EPA granted this request, following a public-comment period, on June 27, 2019. AGC, following a shake-down period, began using the UIC well to dispose of the groundwater pumped from its mine on August 5, 2019.

Defendants (1)

• American Gilsonite CompanyNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• AMERICAN GILSONITE CO - BONANZA

  UTAH HIGHWAY 45, BONANZA, UT, 84008

  Registry ID: 110009769189

• AMERICAN GILSONITE CO - BONANZA

  UTAH HIGHWAY 45, BONANZA, UT, 84008

  Registry ID: 110009769189

Statutes cited

• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• American Gilsonite Company Bonanza Mineentered 2019-10-01

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $516,500

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 2017-05-24Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2017-05-26Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2019-09-09Final Order Lodged
• 2019-09-09Complaint Filed With Court
• 2019-10-01Final Order Entered
• 2019-10-21Enforcement Action Closed
• 2019-10-21NPDES Closed