This happened in Louisiana, but it’s a good example of industry recklessness regarding our drinking water.
George W. Stokes Company Fined for Violating the Clean Water Act
(Dallas, Texas – September 9, 2009) The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has fined the George W. Stokes Company, Inc. of Madisonville, Louisiana, $1,800 for violating federal Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulations outlined under the Clean Water Act. A federal inspection of a bulk storage facility located at 171 East Highway 22, Madisonville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, on May 14, 2009, revealed the facility’s SPCC plan was not certified by a professional engineer, had inadequate or no information and procedures for reporting discharges, and inspections and tests required by federal regulations did not follow written procedures developed for the facility. Personnel working at the site had no training on the operation and maintenance of equipment to prevent discharges, no training on discharge procedure protocols, and no training on applicable pollution control laws, rules and regulations and general facility operations. The inspection also found spill prevention briefings were not scheduled and conducted periodically, the site was not fully fenced and entrance gates were not locked or guarded when unattended, and secondary containment was inadequate for mobile or portable storage tanks. As part of an Expedited Settlement Agreement with EPA, the facility has provided certification that all identified deficiencies have been corrected.
SPCC regulations require onshore oil production or bulk storage facilities to provide oil spill prevention, preparedness and response to prevent oil discharges. The SPCC program helps protect our nation’s water quality. A spill of only one gallon of oil can contaminate one million gallons of water.
Additional information on SPCC regulations is available at http://www.epa.gov/oilspill
More about activities in EPA Region 6 is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6
EPA audio file is available at http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/sep2009.html
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About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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Wow! $1800 fine….How will they ever afford it? What is the SPCC going to do to protect the health & welfare of the citizens? Did they really expedite corrections? They may as well as given them a time out in a corner!