The City Commission Aug. 14 approved a settlement agreement of almost $52,000 with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stemming from an April 2015 incident at a Plant City water facility.
According to documents provided by the city, between the evening of April 20 and the morning of April 21, 2015, 4,000 gallons of sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach, was leaked and pumped into a “small closed basin swale for rainwater onsite” and “percolated into the ground and did not leave the site” at the Airport Road facility. The plant’s chief operator, Patrick Murphy, was called to the site around 5:15 a.m. Cleanup and repairs began immediately.
Sodium hypochlorite is commonly used in water treatment. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “sodium hypochlorite appears to offer the best mix of low cost, ease of use, safety, and effectiveness in areas where there is enough water to drink and water is not excessively turbid. These characteristics are the reasons most water treatment systems in the US and Europe have been using chlorine for disinfecting drinking water for nearly 100 years.”
According to ACT’s final cleanup report, the leak was caused when a ladder was left standing after level sensors were being installed on the sodium hypochlorite storage tanks. An evening storm blew the ladder over, damaging a fitting and valve assembly, creating the leak.
The EPA penalty doesn’t stem from the leak itself, but from the timeline of reporting it. The EPA alleged Plant City violated the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), which state any release of hazardous chemicals or hazardous substances must “immediately” be reported to the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Response Center, which acts as a “911 dispatcher” of sorts in response to environmental concerns, Coast Guard Lt. Trevor Siperek said. Siperek said the NRC collects the report information, then sends it to a federal coordinator and, as a courtesy, to relevant public response agencies that request notification.
“I am so appalled with the fact that we are being fined that amount of money for such a minor situation. For the record, that’s ridiculous. This is not a perfect world. Our people are not perfect. But we do everything possible to make it perfect. Accidents happen. I’m just appalled.”
— Mike Sparkman
According to the NRC incident report, Plant City notified the NRC at 4:14 p.m. on April, 21 2015 and the NRC notified other agencies at 4:22 p.m. While CERCLA and EPCRA require “immediate” notification, they do not define what an “immediate” response is in reporting guidelines.
“They did an excellent job in taking care of the response,” City Attorney Ken Buchman said. “The only mistake was that they didn’t report until later in the afternoon.”
Buchman said the crew’s priorities that day were containing and cleaning up the spill.
At the time of the incident, American Compliance Technologies (ACT) of Bartow was brought on to assist with final cleanup. The cleanup involved excavating about 1,000 cubic feet of soil and installing wells to remove contaminated groundwater.
In a letter to the city, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Office of Emergency Response said the cleanup was “handled satisfactorily and in accordance” with relevant Florida codes.
According to Buchman, the EPA originally citied the city for three violations of CERCLA and EPCRA notification requirements and issued penalties for about $150,000. Tampa-based environmental lawyer Frank Hearne was brought on to help negotiate the settlement, Buchman said. He said the city originally asked for a lower settlement amount, later agreeing to pay $17,268 for a CERCLA violation and $34,537 for an EPCRA violation, totaling $51,805.
City commissioners unanimously approved the settlement agreement, but commissioner Mike Sparkman was less than thrilled about having to pay the fines.
“I am so appalled with the fact that we are being fined that amount of money for such a minor situation. For the record, that’s ridiculous. This is not a perfect world. Our people are not perfect. But we do everything possible to make it perfect. Accidents happen. I’m just appalled.”
According to the city’s finance department, ACT was paid $5,500 for their role in the cleanup and Hearne was paid $27,077.50 for his services negotiating the settlement. According to the finance department, the U.S. EPA was paid for the settlement Aug. 18.
The U.S. EPA declined a request for comment on the issue, stating it does not comment on ongoing enforcement matters.