20201223 - - INDUSTRIAL STORMWATER EXPEDITED SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ISSUED, ASSESSING A TOTAL PENALTY OF $7,500. RESPONDENT SHALL MAKE PAYMENT WITHIN 30 DAYS.
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS:
On August 12, 2019, the EPA issued an Inspection Report to the Respondent. The EPA?s industrial stormwater guidance anticipates potential discharges from an industrial site to occur with rain events greater than 0.1 inch. In EPA?s industrial penalty policy, 0.5 inches during a 24-hour period is used as the benchmark for likely stormwater runoff. According to the rain data available from West Palm Beach airport station, fifty-two (52) months during the period of May 2015 to May 2020 have had one or more daily rain events greater than 0.5 inches. Due to the hydrology of the Facility, which consists entirely of impervious surfaces, the EPA has determined that from May 2015 to May 2020, stormwater associated with industrial activities flowed into the facility?s two yard drains, which are connected to the City of West Palm Beach stormwater drainage system along North Railroad Avenue. Storm drains along North Railroad Avenue drain eastward traveling approximately 2,000 feet and discharge directly into Lake Worth Lagoon, an intercoastal waterway to the Atlantic Ocean.
Respondent has violated Sections 301 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. ?? 1311, by discharging stormwater from the Facility without proper authorization to waters of the United States.