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EPA 2006 enforcement highlights for Ohio

Release Date: 11/16/2006
Contact Information: Phillippa Cannon, (312) 353-6218, cannon.phillippa@epa.gov

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 06 - OPA214

CHICAGO (Nov. 16, 2006) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 today announced that its enforcement actions in Ohio in 2006 have caused regulated entities to pay more than $107 million to correct past environmental violations and help prevent future ones.

In the past fiscal year, EPA resolved 80 actions against regulated entities in Ohio and assessed a total of $2,717,709 in civil penalties for various air, water, hazardous waste, community right-to-know and pesticide violations. As part of settlement agreements, Ohio companies agreed to do nine supplemental environmental projects worth about $3.9 million. In addition, EPA initiated 51 new cases in the state.

"Complying with the law is key to ensuring that public health and the environment are protected," said Regional Administrator Mary A. Gade. "We and our partners at the Ohio EPA are committed to ensuring cleaner air, water and land for the people of Ohio."

Among the most notable settlements in Ohio were with Cargill Inc. and Eramet Marietta:

• Cargill, a multi-state agribusiness that owns and operates grain, bean and seed oil processing plants, agreed to install air pollution control equipment at 27 facilities including a corn processing facility in Dayton. The company will pay a $1.6 million civil penalty and spend $3.5 million on environmental projects to resolve this national case. Cargill's plants were significant sources of volatile organic compounds and carbon monoxide.
• Eramet Marietta Inc., Marietta, Ohio, with Elkem Metals Co. and its partners, agreed to pay combined penalties of $750,000 ($525,000 and $225,000 respectively) and more than $2 million to restore injured natural resources in the Ohio River. The states of Ohio and West Virginia were also parties to the settlement.

• 145,358,476 pounds of pollutants reduced
• 535,385 cubic yards of contaminated soil cleaned up
• 23 million cubic yards of water and 5,740 linear feet of streams restored
• 2,368 acres of wetlands protected