THIS CASE IS BEING REFERRED TO U.S. DOJ FOR THE FILING OF A CIVIL ACTION AGAINST ALCOA FOR ALCOA'S VIOLATIONS OF SECTIONS 301 AND 402 OF THE CWA. ALCOA'S VIOLATIONS START FROM ITS DISCHARGE OF POLLUTANT AND TOXIC EFFLUENT FROM ITS FACILITY INTO ELLIOTT DITCH, AT LEVELS THAT EXCEED NPDES PERMIT DISCHARGE LIMITS FOR CERTAIN POLLUTANTS. U.S. EPA IS SEEKING A SUBSTANTIAL CIVIL PENALTY AS WELL AS INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. INFORMATION ON PERMIT AND PERMIT APPLICATIONS, PLANT OPERATION, WASTEWATER GENERATION AND TREATMENT, RAW MATERIALS USED, DISCHARGE MONITORING, PCB SOURCES, ENFORCE- MENT HISTORY, TOXICITY TESTS, STUDIES ON WATER USAGE, ETC. THE CCDS FOR ALCOA, LAFAYETTE ORDER V-W-98-AO-08
quantitative environmental impacts of any pollutants reduction/elimination are difficult to estimate due to its projects natures.
Historically, Alcoa used PCBs at its facility in its extrusion presses, furnaces, and other machinery that required hydraulic oil for operation. PCBs were the lubricant of choice because of their high heat-resistant properties. The Indiana 305(b) Water Quality Report for 1994-1995 identified that all waters in the Wabash River Basin are under a general fish consumption advisory for PCBs and mercury. The 305(b) report identified that source of PCB contamination is the Alcoa facility which is known to have discharged low levels of PCBs to Elliott Ditch in the past and stil