PHILADELPHIA (Legal Newsline) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that CNX Marine Terminals has agreed to pay a $34,600 penalty to settle alleged violations of federal environmental laws.
The alleged violations involve the discharge of pollutants in stormwater runoff, the operation and maintenance of underground storage tank systems and waste storage. The alleged violations were at the CNX Baltimore facility.
According to the EPA, the specific violations include unauthorized stormwater discharges from a pipe into the Janney Run Creek, failure to properly operate and maintain the release detection system on a 2,000-gallon underground storage tank, failure to conduct a line tightness test on the underground storage tank every three years and failure to properly store used fluorescent lamps.
The penalty reflects the cooperation of CNX with the EPA.
Under the Clean Water Act, facilities must obtain permits issued by EPA or the state environmental agency before discharging stormwater runoff into waterways.
Underground storage tanks must be tested, the EPA said, to prevent leaks because the greatest potential threat from a leaking UST is contamination of groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans.
Such leaks, according to the EPA, can be dangerous because UST systems contain hazardous and toxic chemicals.