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EPA CITES A.T. WILLIAMS OIL CO. FOR GASOLINE SPILL

Release Date: 1/12/1999
Contact Information: Bonnie Smith (215) 814-5543

BASSETT, Va. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has cited A.T. Williams Co. of Winston Salem, N.C., for an oil spill in Bassett, Henry County, Va.

According to EPA’s administrative complaint, while filling other tanks at a station, an A.T. Williams a tanker truck spilled about 500 gallons of unleaded gasoline into a drainage ditch that empties into the Smith River on July 23, 1998. EPA is seeking a $10,000 penalty for this alleged violation of the Clean Water Act.

The Clean Water Act, as amended by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, prohibits discharges of oil or oil products into United States waterways and coastal areas in quantities that are harmful to the environment or public health or welfare. The law also establishes a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) program that requires companies to prepare oil spill prevention and response plans, and to report prohibited discharges immediately to a national response center.

A.T. Williams reported this violation the day after the spill to the national response center. The company has the right to a hearing to contest the alleged violation and proposed penalty.