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Public Notice: Proposed Settlement of Safe Drinking Water Act Administrative Penalty; SMS Briners Inc., Stockton, CA

How to Comment

Comments accepted through: 09/02/2020

Name, Mailing Address, Telephone Number, and Email of Regional Hearing Clerk
Steven Armsey, Regional Hearing Clerk
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9
75 Hawthorne Street (ORC-1)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 972-3919
r9hearingclerk@epa.gov

Instructions for Submitting Comments
Please provide the following information along with your comments and submit them in accordance with Part 22: Your full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, the Docket Number (UIC-09-2020-0051), and a concise statement of the basis for and relevant facts supporting any comment for the case to which you are commenting.

Persons wishing to comment on this case, including comments on the amount or basis of the proposed penalty, are invited to submit a statement to the EPA Regional Administrator, attention of the Regional Hearing Clerk (address above), within 30 days of the date of this public notice. We encourage electronic submittals of comments in addition to any hard copy submissions, but if you are unable to submit electronically or need other assistance, please reach out to Mr. Armsey via email at r9hearingclerk@epa.gov or via telephone at (415) 972-3919.

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 Mr. Armsey by email or telephone.

All comments received within this 30-day period will be considered prior to the issuance of the final order. 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. See 40 C.F.R. § 22.7(a).

Publish Date: 08/03/2020

Summary

In accordance with Section 1423(c)(3)(B) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA” or “Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 300h-2(c)(3)(B), and the “Consolidated Rules of Practice Governing the Administrative Assessment of Civil Penalties and the Revocation/Termination or Suspension of Permits” (“Consolidated Rules”) at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Proposed Final Order (“Proposed Consent Agreement”), between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (“EPA”), and SMS Briners to resolve the following civil administrative proceeding under Sections 1423(c)(3)(B) of the Act.

In the Matter of SMS Briners, Docket No. UIC-09-2020-0051

Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. §§ 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2) - (3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Proposed Consent Agreement to simultaneously commence and conclude this SDWA civil administrative proceeding. The Proposed Consent Agreement requires Respondent to pay to the United States a penalty of six thousand two hundred and five ($6,205) dollars by October 2, 2020. The Proposed Consent Agreement also requires Respondent to install an alert system which informs Respondent of any abnormal operating conditions or potential injection issues and immediately ceases well operations. Payment of this penalty and installation of the alert system will resolve EPA’s allegations that the Respondent violated 40 C.F.R. §144.51(a) via unauthorized injection which occurred on September 5-6, 2019, and failure to monitor per permit conditions.

Complainant: Amy C. Miller-Bowen, Director, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, U.S. EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Respondent: Bob Chelli, President, SMS Briners Inc.
Facility: SMS Briners, Inc., located at 17750 East Highway 4, Stockton, CA 95215.
Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: The Facility’s primary function is vegetable brining.
Alleged Violations: EPA alleges that Respondent performed unauthorized injection from September 5-6, 2019, and failed to install proper monitoring equipment, per permit conditions. 40 C.F.R. § 144.51(a).
Proposed Order and Penalty: $6,205 and installation of alert system as injunctive relief.

For More Information

Persons wishing to receive a copy of the Consolidated Rules, review the documents filed by the parties in this proceeding, comment upon the Consent Agreement and Proposed Final Order or participate in any hearing that may be held, may contact the Regional Hearing Clerk identified above. Please note that the federal regulations are available online at the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) website. Unless otherwise noted, the public record for the proceeding shall be available here, and the file shall remain available for public inspection during the duration of the public comment period.

Applicant or Respondent

SMS Briners Inc.
7750 East Highway 4
Stockton, CA 95215