EPA says DuPont to pay $500k pollution penalty

WILMINGTON, Del. (Legal Newsline) - The Environmental Protection Agency announced that DuPont Corp. has agreed to pay a $500,000 penalty for pollution violations at its Edge Moor plant site.

Violations were primarily discharges into the Delaware River that occurred between 2005 and 2011, according to a consent agreement the company reached with federal and state agencies. The facility - which makes a white pigment from titanium, used in the print and publishing industries - committed violations of state and federal Clean Water Act laws.

Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control first issued a notice of violation to DuPont in April 2008 for numerous effluent discharges that exceeded permit limits and for violations of other general NPDES permit conditions that were not met.

"We must be ever vigilant in protecting the Delaware River," said DNREC Secretary Collin O'Mara. "Through this consent order, DuPont has committed to addressing past discharges while taking steps to meet future challenges in an effort to ensure that the river's water quality continues to improve."

DuPont also consented to an environmental compliance assessment, to be completed within 15 months. Beyond this assessment, DuPont must also demonstrate that it is implementing a storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) by submitting inspection reports to EPA for the duration of the consent decree.