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Pennsylvania Company to Pay $25,347 Penalty for Inadequate Oil Spill Prevention at Harrisville, Pa. Facility

Release Date: 01/10/2012
Contact Information: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

PHILADELPHIA (January 10, 2012) -- In a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Heath Oil, Inc., headquartered in Franklin, Pa., has agreed to pay a $25, 347 penalty for alleged violations of oil spill prevention regulations at an oil storage facility located at 5609 State Route 8 in Harrisville, Pa.

Under the Clean Water Act, all owners of oil storage facilities must develop and implement a spill prevention, control and countermeasure (SPCC) plan to minimize risk in the event that oil and other hazardous substances are released into the environment.

During a compliance inspection at the facility, EPA inspectors found that the company's SPCC plan failed to comply with federal oil pollution prevention regulations. In particular, EPA alleged that the plan did not have required elements, including information on potential oil discharges and bulk oil storage tanks, and provisions for a tri-annual plan review.

In November 2010, the company submitted a revised SPCC plan correcting the deficiencies identified by EPA.

During storage and transport, oil and other oil-based products are sometimes spilled onto land or into waterways. When this occurs, human health and environmental quality are put at risk. Every effort must be made to prevent oil spills and to clean them up promptly once they occur. The costs associated with spill prevention are often much less than the costs associated with the cleanup after the spill has occurred.

The settlement penalty takes into account the company's cooperation with EPA in resolving the alleged violations and complying with applicable SPCC regulations.

For more information about EPA's SPCC rule, visit https://www.epa.gov/osweroe1/content/spcc/