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Port of L.A. refueling facility to pay proposed $74,473 to settle storm water violations

Release Date: 08/17/2009
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, (213) 244-1815, arcaute.francisco@epa.gov

For Immediate Release: August 17, 2009
Contact: Francisco Arcaute
(213) 244-1815, Cell (213) 798-1404
arcaute.francisco@epa.gov

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed that General Petroleum Corporation - a marine distributor of Chevron and Texaco products – pay a penalty of $74,473 for allegedly failing to obtain a storm water permit for its facility at the Port of Los Angeles.

Between October 1, 2004 and December 4, 2007, the General Petroleum Corporation discharged pollutants in storm water at its petroleum bulk storage facility without first obtaining a storm water permit, a violation of the Clean Water Act and California’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit requirements.

“Facilities such as these industries can control storm water pollution by following good housekeeping and continued maintenance,” said Alexis Strauss, Water Division director for the EPA's Pacific Southwest region. “Controlling storm water pollution is essential to the ongoing improvement of Southern California water quality.”

Polluted runoff is a major cause of water pollution that can carry pollutants, such as metals, oil and grease, acidic wastewater, bacteria, trash, and other toxic pollutants, from industrial sources into nearby water sources. The EPA requires industrial facilities to prevent water pollution by complying with federal and state water pollution requirements.

Today’s action is part of a larger enforcement initiative focusing on ports to ensure the Port, as well as its tenants, comply with storm water requirements. The U.S. EPA and the Los Angeles Regional Quality Control Board conducted a storm water audit of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in May 2007, and issued 20 administrative orders to the Ports’ tenants in November 2007, including General Petroleum Corporation.

The proposed settlement is subject to a 30-day public comment period. For information on today’s action or to comment, go to:
http: //www.epa.gov/region09/enforcement/pubnotices/pubnotice-gen-petrol.html

The federal Clean Water Act requires that municipal and many industrial facilities that discharge pollutants directly from a point source into a waterway obtain a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

For more information on wastewater and storm permits, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/region09/water/npdes/index.html

Follow the U.S. EPA's Pacific Southwest region on Twitter: http://twitter.com/USEPAregion9 and join the LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/1823773/