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Public Notice: Don Chapin Ready Mix, Salinas, CA; Proposed Settlement of Clean Water Act Class I Administrative Penalty

How to Comment

Comments accepted through: 11/13/2020

Please provide your full name and mailing address. Please submit your comment in writing stating that you are providing comments on the proposed assessment of a penalty pursuant to CWA § 309(g)(4) and intend to participate in the proceeding. Please include the following Docket Number CWA-09-2021-0003 with your comments.

All comments must be submitted to the Regional Hearing Clerk (address below), within 30 days of the date of this public notice (see 40 C.F.R. § 22.45(b)). If the 30th day of the comment period falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or federal holiday, the deadline shall be extended to the next business day. EPA will consider all comments received within this 30-day period before issuance of the final order. Please note that 40 C.F.R. Part 22, the federal regulations governing these proceedings, can be found online at www.ecfr.gov.

We encourage electronic submittals, including in addition to any required hard copy submissions, but if you are unable to submit electronically or need other assistance, please reach out to the contact listed in the notice or regulation or, if unavailable, the responsible EPA program’s general contact email or phone number.

If you need assistance in a language other than English or if you are a person with disabilities who needs a reasonable accommodation at no cost to you, please reach out to the listed contact by email or phone.

Name, Mailing Address, Telephone Number, and Email of Regional Hearing Clerk
Steven Armsey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX
75 Hawthorne Street (ORC-1)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 972-3919
r9hearingclerk@epa.gov

Proposed Settlement

Publish Date: 10/14/2020

Summary

In accordance with Section 309(g) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g), and the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Final Order (Proposed CA/FO), between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (EPA or Complainant), and Don Chapin Co. (Respondent) to resolve the following civil administrative penalty proceeding under Section 309(g).

On October 9, 2020, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2) and (3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Proposed CA/FO to simultaneously commence and conclude this CWA Class I civil administrative penalty proceeding. The Proposed CA/FO requires Respondent to pay the United States a penalty of ten thousand (10,000) dollars. Payment of this penalty will resolve EPA’s allegations that Respondent violated CWA Section 301 by discharging industrial stormwater to waters of the United States without authorization on multiple occasions.

In the Matter of Don Chapin Co. - Docket No. CWA-09-2021-0003

Complainant: Elizabeth Berg, Acting Assistant Director, Enforcement Division, U.S. EPA, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105.

Respondent: Don Chapin Co., 440 Crazy Horse Canyon Road, Salinas, CA 93907

Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Respondent operates a ready-mix concrete manufacturing and sales facility located at 1351 Harkins Road in Salinas, CA. The facility discharges into the City of Salinas’ municipal separate storm sewer system, which flows through the Salinas Reclamation Canal and into Monterey Bay.

Summary of Alleged Violations: EPA alleges that Respondent violated CWA Section 301 by discharging industrial stormwater to waters of the United States without authorization on multiple occasions between November 2015 and July 2020. The Respondent has since made structural changes to the facility to limit discharges and has obtained NPDES permit coverage in compliance with the CWA.

Proposed Penalty: $10,000

Applicant or Respondent

Don Chapin Co.
440 Crazy Horse Canyon Road
Salinas, CA 93907