EPA v. SWINERTON BUILDERS - AMERICAN FALLS SOLAR LLC (NC)(LEAD)

Case summary

On January 17, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of EPA Regions 4, 5, 10, and OECA, filed a Consent Decree in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California resolving violations of the Clean Water Act and construction general permits (CGPs) administered by EPA and the states of Alabama and Illinois by Swinerton Builders, at facilities in Alabama, Idaho, and Illinois. The Region 10 facility is located in American Falls, Idaho. Swinerton Builders was an unpermitted construction operator at the American Falls site where they repeatedly failed to meet requirements of the CWA and EPA's CGP including water quality standards for sediment; failed to timely implement and maintain best management practices; failed to temporarily stabilize the Site for months; failed to document self-inspections for months; failed to documents problems at the facility with correction reports and failed to notify EPA; and many other violations from August 2016 through November 2017. Violations at the facility resulted in an estimated discharge of 945 tons of excess sediment, which likely caused downstream water quality issues. The Defendant has agreed to pay a penalty of $2.3 million (with $736,000 attributed to the American Falls site). Construction was completed in or around November 2017, so Defendant is not required to perform any restoration actions at this time but will provide $660,000 funding toward restoration project(s) in the area with comparable reductions in sedimentation. The court approved the Consent Decree on July 12, 2024.

Defendants (1)

• SWINERTON BUILDERSNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• SWINERTON RENEWABLE ENERGY - AMERICAN FALLS SOLAR LLC FARMS I & II

  2294 RAMSEY ROAD, AMERICAN FALLS, ID, 83211

  Registry ID: 110070050897

Statutes cited

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

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• SWINERTON BUILDERS - AMERICAN FALLS SOLAR LLC (NC)(LEAD)entered 2024-07-12

  Primary law: CWA

  Federal penalty: $736,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2020-09-28Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2022-09-14Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2024-01-17Complaint Filed With Court
• 2024-01-17Final Order Lodged
• 2024-07-12Final Order Entered