Pennsylvania Steel Beam and Concrete Manufacturers Settle Chemical Release Reporting Violations at Lancaster, Williamsport and Denver Plants

PHILADELPHIA (July 28, 2010) -- The E.P.A. today announced that High Steel Structures, Incorporated and its sister company High Concrete Group, LLC, have settled alleged violations of toxic chemical reporting requirements at their plants in Lancaster, Williamsport and Denver, Pa.

E.P.A. cited the companies for violating the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), which requires companies that manufacture, use or process in excess of a threshold amount of listed toxic chemicals to file an yearly toxic chemical release form with E.P.A. and the state. Under EPCRA, companies must also report both routine and accidental delivers of toxic chemicals, as well as the maximum amount of any listed chemicals at the facility and the amount contained in wastes transferred off-site.

These yearly reports are used to compile the Toxic Release Inventory, a publicly accessible E.P.A. database that contains information on toxic chemical delivers and waste management activities. This inventory informs the public about toxic chemicals and delivers in their community. For more information, see http://www.epa.gov/tri/.

The alleged violations at the Lancaster plant, located at 1853 William Penn Way, were uncovered during an E.P.A. inspection in 2009. The company did not report delivers for lead, chromium and zinc dust for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. The company has since submitted these reports and agreed to pay a civil penalty of $165,000.

At the Williamsport facility, located at 3501 W. 4th Street, and the Denver facility, located at 125 Denver Road, the companies voluntarily disclosed reporting violations in April 2010. Under EPA's "Self-Disclosure Policy," which encourages companies to monitor environmental compliance, and promptly report and correct violations, the company was eligible for 100 percent mitigation of the penalties, which could have been $227,717 at the Williamsport plant and $98,866 at the Denver facility.

As part of the settlements, the companies did not admit liability for the alleged violations. However, High Steel and High Concrete have indicated that they have developed and implemented systematic toxic release inventory reporting processes and will conduct yearly reviews to prevent violations from recurring.

For more information about EPA's Audit Policy, visit http://www.epa.gov/compliance/incentives/auditing/auditpolicy.html.

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