EPA v. COMINCO ALASKA INC

Case summary

The Cominco Alaska Inc., Red Dog Mine is 90 miles NE of Kotzebue, Alaska. The mine is an open pit mine and is the world's largest lead/zinc mine. All ore is milled on-site into a lead/zinc concentrate that is hauled to a Port on the Chukchi Sea. The ore is stored at the Port site most of the year until ice in the Chukchi Sea melts in the Spring and ships may reach the Port. The mine and the Port site both have NPDES Permits. The most significant violations at the mine are NPDES Permit effluent violations, mostly heavy metals. The violations are based largely on DMRs. There are about 198 effluent limit violations at the mine. There are also about 611 violations of the CWA for unpermitted discharges from a Tent Camp used by contractors in the Summer. Cominco never requested an NPDES Permit for that site. There are also about 196 unpermitted Winter discharges. Cominco's NPDES Permit only authorizes discharges from May through October to Red Dog Creek. However, EPA program staff may have told the company it could discharge November through April, if it complied with a State-issued Winter discharge Permit. The company has been in almost constant violation of its NPDES Permit at the Port site since it began operations there in 1989. There are about 1186 BOD and TSS effluent violations shown on DMRs. There are also a number of lesser permit violations. The other major violation at the Port Site is diesel fuel spill that occured there in July 1993. This spill was of about 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel onto the tundra. There are also several SPCC violations related to the storage of fuel at the Port site.

Defendants (1)

• Cominco Alaska IncNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (8)

• TECK ALASKA INC - RED DOG PORT SITE

  17 MILES SE OF KIVALINA, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99750

  Registry ID: 110002465779

• TECK ALASKA INC - RED DOG PORT SITE

  17 MILES SE OF KIVALINA, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99750

  Registry ID: 110002465779

• RED DOG MINE

  90 MILES NORTH OF KOTZEBUE, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99752

  Registry ID: 110000601705

• TECK ALASKA INC - RED DOG PORT SITE

  17 MILES SE OF KIVALINA, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99750

  Registry ID: 110002465779

• TECK ALASKA INC - RED DOG PORT SITE

  17 MILES SE OF KIVALINA, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99750

  Registry ID: 110002465779

• TECK ALASKA INC - RED DOG PORT SITE

  17 MILES SE OF KIVALINA, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99750

  Registry ID: 110002465779

• RED DOG MINE

  90 MILES NORTH OF KOTZEBUE, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99752

  Registry ID: 110000601705

• TECK ALASKA INC - RED DOG PORT SITE

  17 MILES SE OF KIVALINA, KOTZEBUE, AK, 99750

  Registry ID: 110002465779

Statutes cited

• CWA 301 — NPDES Discharge without a Permit
• CWA 301/402 — NPDES Permit Violations

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• COMINCO ALASKA INCentered 1997-11-25

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $1,700,000

Timeline (6 milestones)

• 1993-07-29Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 1993-09-30Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 1997-07-21Final Order Lodged
• 1997-07-21Complaint Filed With Court
• 1997-11-25Final Order Entered
• 1997-11-25Concluded