Volume XIII, Edition 3

March 1, 2013

GATEKEEPER NEWSLETTER
Arizona Emergency Response Commission
5636 East McDowell Road
Phoenix, Arizona 85008-3495

Lou Trammell, Chair

Janice K. Brewer, Governor
http://www.governor.state.az.us/

http://www.dem.azdema.gov/
Mark Howard, Executive Director
http://www.azserc.org

Inside this
issue:
Chemical leak reported at Pace plant:

3

EPA Requires Nevada
Gold Mining Companies to Correct Reporting Violations:

4

Bills would impose tougher chemical
security rules:
Senator Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., has
introduced a pair of bills that would impose tougher security requirements on
chemical and water facilities that use
hazardous substances.

One of the two measures that Lautenberg
introduced on Wednesday would impose
6
additional requirements on industry
through the Homeland Security Department’s 6-year-old Chemical Facility
EPA Releases ComAntiterrorism Standards. The other would
prehensive Informa8
authorize the Environmental Protection
tion on Chemical Use:
Agency to regulate security at water facilities that use dangerous chemicals – an
EPA Reaches $1.6
area that is exempt from Homeland SecuMillion Settlement at
10 rity’s CFATS program.
Operating Industries
EPA Releases State
Enforcement Performance Information and
Comparative Maps:

Superfund Site:
3 sickened by chemical leak:

Protect Workers From
Carbon Monoxide:

The two bills appear aimed at addressing
the concerns of some Democrats – along
12 with labor and environmental groups –
that the CFATS program in its current
form does not sufficiently shield industrial facilities from terrorist attacks that
14 could release lethal materials into the
surrounding area. In a press release, Lautenberg cited a report environmental
groups released on Tuesday suggesting
that 12,440 facilities throughout the country could harm people if damaged during
a terrorist attack. The report cites EPA
data on wastewater treatment plants,
refineries and other facilities that use
hazardous chemicals.

“We need to pass my legislation to
require facilities to thoroughly
review risk and help us move toward more secure plants and safer
communities,” said Lautenberg, a
senior Democrat on the Senate
Environment and Public Works
Committee. “Hundreds of plants
have already switched to safer and
more secure chemicals and processes, and this common-sense legislation would build on these
achievements and increase safety
nationwide.”
Lautenberg’s legislation would
require managers of facilities using
dangerous chemicals to evaluate
whether they could reduce the
consequences of an attack by
switching to safer chemicals or
processes. If reducing risk in this
manner is determined feasible, any
plant designated as “high risk” by
the government would be required
to make such a switch.
Industry organizations have long
said requiring such a move to socalled “inherently safer technologies” would be too onerous. The
requirements of the existing
CFATS program are enough to
ensure security measures are both
sufficient and efficient, they say.

Labor and environmental groups,
along with some Democrats, argue
that the existing CFATS law lacks
teeth by failing to authorize Homeland Security to require any specific
security measures. The mandate that
facilities develop site security plans
to be evaluated by the government is
not enough, they argue.
In addition, the CFATS program has
been under fire from both sides of the
aisle for the slow pace at which it has
approved site security plans since its
inception in 2007, along with a litany
of management problems that were
revealed in an internal memo leaked
to the press early last year.
In September, the new leaders of the
DHS program testified that they had
completed 70 of 95 “action items”
the memo identified as necessary to
fix the management problems. More
recently, a major industry group this
month rolled out a plan it says will
help the government increase the
pace at which it can approve site
security plans.
Article continued on page 12

GATEKEEPER

Page 2

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EPA Corner

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 3

EPA Announces Settlements with Company for Multiple
Violations of Chemical Reporting and Pesticide Laws:
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it reached settlements with
two subsidiaries of the Kemira Group for
violations of chemical and pesticide laws.
The settlement with Kemira Chemicals
resolves alleged violations of the Federal
Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide
Act, including the sale and distribution of
an unregistered pesticide, the sale and distribution of misbranded pesticides, and
pesticide production reporting violations.
The sale and distribution of unregistered
or misbranded pesticides can cause serious
illness in humans and be harmful to the
environment. Under the terms of the
agreement, Kemira Chemicals has cor-

rected the alleged violations and
will pay a civil penalty of
$301,600.
EPA also reached an agreement
with Kemira Water Solutions after
an EPA inspection identified 27
violations of the Toxic Substance
Control Act’s Inventory Update
Reporting (IUR) rule for the 2006
reporting period. The IUR rule
requires manufacturers and importers of certain chemical substances to report the production
volume and location of each facility producing these chemical substances. The information collected
is used to support risk screening

and assessment and makes up the most
comprehensive source of basic screening-level, exposure-related information
on chemicals available to EPA. Kemira
Water Solutions has since submitted
the required information to EPA and
will pay a civil penalty of $503,110.
Kemira Chemicals, Inc. and Kemira
Water Solutions, Inc. are both subsidiaries of Kemira Group, a global chemical company with U.S. headquarters in
Atlanta, Ga.
More information about the settlement:
http://www.epa.gov/enforcement/
waste/cases/kemiragroup.html

Chemical leak reported at Pace plant:
Northwest Florida Daily
News – (Florida) Chemical
leak reported at Pace plant.
Taminco Pace No. 4 plant
reported a DMA60 chemical

leak after a spill during a rail
transfer. Multiple people were
affected at the scene, and a
shelter was put in place as a
precautionary measure. Source:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/
local/update-chemical-leakreported-at-pace-plant-1.83572

GATEKEEPER

Page 4

CAMEO Companion is now available for printing please contact:
State of Arizona Department of Corrections
Dirk Johnson, Account Manager
3107 W. Cambridge Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85009
602-272-7600 Ext. 207
Toll Free: 800-992-1738
Fax: 602-272-1007
Cell: 602-388-7230
djohnso1@azcorrections.gov

EPA Requires Nevada Gold Mining Companies to Correct
Reporting Violations:
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) settled
with three gold mining companies, all subsidiaries of Barrick Gold Corporation, for
failing to correctly report toxic chemical
releases and waste management activities
as required by the Emergency Planning
and Community Right-to-Know Act
(EPCRA).
“The Toxic Release Inventory program is
a vital tool for tracking toxic releases
across the country, providing transparency
about chemicals in communities,” said
Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “The program is undermined if companies do not report or misreport the use or release of chemicals at their
facilities.”
The companies, Barrick Cortez, Inc., Barrick Gold US, Inc. and Homestake Mining
Company, agreed to pay a total of
$278,000 in penalties and spend an additional $340,000 to conduct an environmentally beneficial project.
The violations involved incorrect reporting
under the federal Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
at the Cortez Gold Mine near Crescent
Valley, the Ruby Hill Gold Mine near
Eureka, and the Bald Mountain Gold Mine
near the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Ref-

uge, all in Nevada.
After EPA inspectors analyzed the
mines’ records they found that the
facilities failed to submit timely,
complete and correct Toxics Release
Inventory (TRI) reports in 2005,
2006, 2007 and 2008, for toxic
chemicals. These chemicals include
cyanide compounds used to extract
gold from the ore mined at the facilities, and lead and mercury compounds produced during the extraction process. Under the settlement,
the Barrick gold companies will audit
and correct their TRI reports for 2005
through 2011 to comply with EPCRA. There is no evidence to suggest
that the violations posed any immediate danger to workers at the facilities
or local communities.
The agreement requires a $340,000
supplemental environmental project
at the Cortez mine to identify the
metal compounds formed in its oxide
mill process. The gold companies
will also perform audits at other Barrick facilities in the U.S. (in Nevada
and Montana), correct reporting violations, if any, and pay a $10,000
penalty per violation, not to exceed
$250,000.
Under EPCRA, facilities that manu-

facture, process, or use toxic chemicals
over certain quantities must file annual
reports estimating the amounts released to the environment, treated or
recycled on-site, or transferred off-site
for waste management. These reports
are submitted to EPA and the State or
Tribe with jurisdiction over the facility. EPA compiles this information into
a national TRI database and makes it
available to the public.
Metal ore mining accounts for 98 percent of total TRI releases reported to
EPA in Nevada. This investigation and
enforcement are part of an ongoing
national effort that began in 2008 to
ensure that gold mining facilities are in
compliance, and that the public has
accurate and complete information
about the facilities in their community.
Barrick gold mining facilities in the
U.S. produced approximately 3.38
million ounces (105.6 tons) of gold in
2011, and the Cortez Gold Mine is the
second largest gold mine in the world.
More information on the Toxics Release Inventory: http://www.epa.gov/tri
EPA's environmental databases, including TRI data, can be accessed at:
http://www.epa.gov/enviro

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 5

EPA Details Results of $100M Federal Effort to Clean up
Navajo Uranium Contamination:
SAN FRANCISCO: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced progress on a coordinated five-year federal
investment of more than $100 million to
address health risks posed by pervasive
uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. EPA joined five other federal agencies in releasing a report today outlining
the results of their Five-Year Plan. Since
2008, EPA has spent more than $50 million to clean up mines, provide safe drinking water, and demolish and replace contaminated homes. In addition to federal
funds, EPA has used the Superfund law to
compel responsible parties to perform an
additional $17 million in mine investigations and cleanups.
Over the past five years, EPA reduced the
most urgent risks to Navajo residents by
remediating 34 contaminated homes, providing safe drinking water to 1825 families, and performing stabilization or
cleanup work at 9 abandoned mines. The
Agency also conducted field assessments
of 240 water supplies and 520 mines to
gain a more complete understanding of the
widespread scope of potential exposures to
uranium contamination on the Navajo Nation. EPA also collaborated with the Navajo Nation EPA, which performed field
assessments of nearly 800 Navajo homes
and other structures.
“This effort has been a great start to addressing the toxic legacy of uranium mining on Navajo lands,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator
for the Pacific Southwest. “The work done
to date would not have been possible with-

out the partnership of the six federal agencies and the Navajo Nation’s EPA and Department of
Justice.”
The Navajo Nation encompasses
more than 27,000 square miles in
the Four Corners area of Arizona,
Colorado and New Mexico. The
unique geology of the region
makes the Navajo Nation rich in
uranium, a radioactive ore in high
demand after the development of
atomic power and weapons at the
close of World War II. Approximately four million tons of uranium ore were extracted during
mining operations within the Navajo Nation from 1944 to 1986.
Many Navajo people worked the
mines, often raising their families
in close proximity to the mines
and mills.
Uranium mining activities no
longer occur within the Navajo
Nation, but the hazards of uranium
contamination remain. More than
500 abandoned uranium mine
claims and thousands of mine features, such as pits, trenches and
holes, with elevated levels of uranium, radium and other radionuclides still exist. Health effects
from exposure to these contaminants can include lung cancer,
bone cancer and impaired kidney
function.
“On behalf of the Navajo people I
appreciate the leadership of Rep.

Henry Waxman and the members of
Congress who requested a multiagency response to the Navajo Nation's
testimony presented at the October
2007 hearing,” said Ben Shelly, President of the Navajo Nation. “While
there have been accomplishments that
improved some conditions, we still
need strong support from the Congress
and the federal agencies to fund the
clean-up of contaminated lands and
water, and to address basic public
health concerns due to the legacy of
uranium mining and milling.”
In 2007, EPA, in cooperation with the
Navajo Nation, together with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC),
the Department of Energy (DOE), the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Indian Health
Service (IHS) developed a Five-Year
Plan to address uranium contamination. All six federal agencies are committed to continue working with the
Navajo Nation to further reduce risks
and find long term solutions to the
remaining uranium issues on Navajo
lands.
The current report can be found at:
http://www.epa.gov/region9/
superfund/navajo-nation/pdf/
NavajoUraniumReport2013.pdf

GATEKEEPER

Page 6

EPA Releases State Enforcement Performance Information
and Comparative Maps:
Agency to host webinar demonstrating
new data features
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the release of state dashboards
and comparative maps that provide the
public with information about the performance of state and EPA enforcement
and compliance programs across the country.
“Transparency and access to information
at all levels helps to drive improvements
in environmental performance,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today’s release of state
enforcement information highlights the
important work going on at the state level
to address serious pollution problems and
also underscores areas where states and
EPA may need to strengthen enforcement
and compliance efforts.”
Most states and tribes in the United States
have the authority to implement and enforce many of the nation’s air, water and
waste laws. The dashboards and maps
include state level data from the last five
years and provide information including

the number of completed inspections,
types of violations found, enforcement actions taken, and penalties
assessed by state. To ensure data
quality, EPA made the maps and
dashboards available to the states in
advance of this public release, in order to provide an opportunity to make
any necessary data corrections.
Users can customize the dashboards
to view state activity, EPA activity,
or combined activity. Where available, the site also allows users to
view national averages and display
state enforcement trends over time.
The interactive state performance
dashboards are located on EPA’s
Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website. ECHO
is an EPA transparency tool that allows the user to map federal and state
inspection, violation, and enforcement information for more than
800,000 regulated facilities. The state
dashboards and comparative maps
that are available in ECHO are part
of EPA’s commitment to increasing
transparency and providing data to
the public in a format that is easy to

understand and use.
EPA will host two webinars demonstrating how to use the state
dashboards and comparative maps now
available in ECHO. The first will be
held on February 12, at 1p.m. EST (for
news media only). The second will be
held on Tuesday, February 12, at 3p.m.
EST (for the public). The demonstration will highlight the new features
added to the tool, important information about the data, and how to compare data by state.
Reserve webinar seat: https://
www1.gotomeeting.com/
register/315869032
View the state performance dashboards
and comparative maps: http://www.epa
-echo.gov/echo/stateperformance/
comparative_maps.html
Visit EPA’s ECHO website: http://
www.epa-echo.gov

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 7

EPA Requires Nevada Gold Mines to Correct Reporting
Violations, Pay $618,000:
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with three gold mining companies,
all subsidiaries of Barrick Gold Corporation, for their failures to correctly report
toxic chemical releases and waste management activities. The companies, Barrick
Cortez, Inc., Barrick Gold US, Inc. and
Homestake Mining Company, agreed to
pay a total of $278,000 in fines and spend
an additional $340,000 to conduct an environmentally beneficial project.
The violations involved incorrect reporting
under the federal Emergency Planning and
Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA)
at the Cortez Gold Mine near Crescent
Valley, the Ruby Hill Gold Mine near
Eureka, and the Bald Mountain Gold Mine
near the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, all in Nevada.
“Cyanide, lead and mercury used at these
mines have the potential to pose a health
threat,” said Jared Blumenfeld, the EPA’s
Regional Administrator for the Pacific
Southwest. “We insist on accurate reporting of chemical releases so that citizens
have a clear idea of the risk from the facilities near their communities.”
Careful analysis of the mines’ records by
EPA inspectors revealed that the facilities
failed to submit timely, complete and correct Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) reports in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, for

toxic chemicals. These chemicals
include cyanide compounds used
to extract gold from the ore mined
at the facilities, and lead and mercury compounds produced during
the extraction process. Under the
settlement, the Barrick gold companies will audit and correct their
TRI reports for 2005 through 2011
to comply with EPCRA. There is
no evidence to suggest that the
violations posed any immediate
danger to workers at the facilities
or local communities.
The agreement requires a
$340,000 supplemental environmental project at the Cortez mine
to identify the metal compounds
formed in its oxide mill process.
The gold companies will also perform audits at the other Barrick
facilities in the U.S. (in Nevada
and Montana), correct reporting
violations, if any, and pay a
$10,000 penalty per violation, not
to exceed $250,000.
EPA requires reporting of toxic
chemical releases under EPCRA,
and facilities that manufacture,
process, or use toxic chemicals
over certain quantities must file
annual reports estimating the
amounts released to the environ-

ment, treated or recycled on-site, or
transferred off-site for waste management. These reports are submitted to
EPA and the State or Tribe with jurisdiction over the facility. EPA compiles
this information into a national TRI
database and makes it available to the
public.
Metal ore mining accounts for 98% of
total TRI releases reported to EPA in
Nevada. This investigation and enforcement are part of an ongoing national effort that began in 2008 to ensure that gold mining facilities are in
compliance, and that the public has
accurate and complete information
about the facilities in their community.
Barrick gold mining facilities in the
U.S. produced approximately 3.38
million ounces (105.6 tons) of gold in
2011, and the Cortez Gold Mine is one
of the largest gold mines in the world.
To find information on the Toxics Release Inventory visit: http://
www.epa.gov/tri
EPA's environmental databases, including the TRI data, can be accessed
at: http://www.epa.gov/enviro

GATEKEEPER

Page 8

EPA Releases Comprehensive Information on Chemical Use:
EPA recently released the 2012 Chemical
Data Reporting (CDR) information on
more than 7,600 chemicals in commerce.
The CDR database contains comprehensive use and exposure information on the
most widely used chemicals in the United
States.
Companies are now required to provide
information on chemicals used in children’s and other consumer products, along
with reports on commercial applications
and industrial uses of chemicals. For the
first time ever, EPA also required companies to substantiate confidentiality claims
in order to ensure that as much information as possible is made available to the
public.
“The 2012 Chemical Data Reporting information will help EPA and others better
assess chemicals, evaluate potential exposures and use, and expand efforts to encourage the use of safer chemicals,” said
former EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “The CDR data also highlight the
clear need for TSCA reform. Updating this
critical law will ensure that EPA has access to the tools and resources it needs to
quickly and effectively assess potentially
harmful chemicals, and safeguard the
health of families across the country.”

The CDR rule, the source of this new
data, was issued under the Toxic
Substances Control Act (TSCA). The
rule requires companies that manufacture or import chemicals to report
manufacturing and import data every
four years when site-specific production volume exceeds 25,000 lb. This
report is for calendar year 2011. The
EPA received reports on 7,674
chemicals, including 354 that were
reported as used in children’s products. 1,704 chemicals were reported
as used in consumer products and
3,073 were used in commercial applications or products. The remaining
chemicals reported were for industrial use only. The CDR information
includes data on chemicals that are
used in children’s products such as
toys, playground and sporting equipment, arts and crafts materials, and
textiles and furniture.
Chemicals used in consumer products, particularly those intended for
children, present potential for direct
exposure to the public and are priorities for assessment by the agency.
Although reporting on these chemicals is compulsory, currently there
are no requirements under TSCA that
existing chemicals be evaluated for

safety.
Yet EPA has taken action and begun a
process to ensure that chemicals used
by the public on a daily basis are safe.
The process identifies potential chemicals for near-term review and risk assessment under TSCA. In 2012, EPA
released a work plan of 83 chemicals
for further review as part of the
agency’s existing chemicals management program. From that list, seven
chemicals were identified for risk assessment development in 2012 and 18
for assessment in 2013 and 2014. In
January 2013, EPA released for public
comment and peer review an initial set
of draft risk assessments of five chemicals for particular uses found in common household products
.
The 2012 CDR information released
recently is available at http://
www.epa.gov/cdr. Users can download
or search the database. You can tailor
the search results to view information
on specific uses of chemicals, such as
those used in products intended for use
with children.

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 9

Transocean Pleads Guilty, Is Sentenced to Pay $400 Million in
Criminal Penalties for Criminal Conduct Leading to Deepwater
Horizon Disaster:
Second Corporate Guilty Plea Obtained by
Deepwater Horizon Task Force, Secondlargest Criminal Clean Water Act Fines and
Penalties in U.S. History
WASHINGTON - Transocean Deepwater
Inc. pleaded guilty today to a violation of the
Clean Water Act (CWA) for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon
disaster, and was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney
General Holder announced today.
In total, the amount of fines and other criminal penalties imposed on Transocean are the
second-largest environmental crime recovery
in U.S. history – following the historic $4
billion criminal sentence imposed on BP
Exploration and Production Inc. in connection with the same disaster.
“Transocean’s guilty plea and sentencing are
the latest steps in the department’s ongoing
efforts to seek justice on behalf of the victims of the Deepwater Horizon disaster,”
said Attorney General Holder. “Most of the
$400 million criminal recovery – one of the
largest for an environmental crime in U.S.
history – will go toward protecting, restoring
and rebuilding the Gulf Coast region.”
“The Deepwater Horizon explosion was a
senseless tragedy that could have been
avoided,” said Assistant Attorney General
Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s
Criminal Division. “Eleven men died, and
the Gulf’s waters, shorelines, communities
and economies suffered enormous damage. With today’s guilty plea, BP and Transocean have now both been held criminally
accountable for their roles in this disaster.”
Transocean’s guilty plea was accepted, and
the sentence was imposed, by U.S. District
Judge Jane Triche Milazzo of the Eastern
District of Louisiana. During the guilty plea
and sentencing proceeding, Judge Milazzo
found, among other things, that the sentence
appropriately reflects Transocean’s role in
the offense conduct, and that the criminal
payments directed to the National Academy
of Sciences and National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation are appropriately designed to

help remedy the harm to the Gulf of
Mexico caused by Transocean’s actions. The judge also noted that the fines
and five year probationary period provide just punishment and adequate deterrence.
Transocean pleaded guilty to an information, previously filed in federal court in
New Orleans, charging the company
with violating the CWA. During the
guilty plea proceeding today, Transocean
admitted that members of its crew onboard the Deepwater Horizon, acting at
the direction of BP’s well site leaders,
known as “company men,” were negligent in failing to investigate fully clear
indications that the Macondo well was
not secure and that oil and gas were
flowing into the well.
The criminal resolution is structured to
directly benefit the Gulf region. Under
the order entered by the court pursuant to
the plea agreement, $150 million of the
$400 million criminal recovery is dedicated to acquiring, restoring, preserving
and conserving – in consultation with
appropriate state and other resource managers – the marine and coastal environments, ecosystems and bird and wildlife
habitat in the Gulf of Mexico and bordering states harmed by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This portion of the criminal recovery will also be directed to significant barrier island restoration and/or
river diversion off the coast of Louisiana
to further benefit and improve coastal
wetlands affected by the spill. An additional $150 million will be used to fund
improved oil spill prevention and response efforts in the Gulf through research, development, education and
training.
Transocean was also sentenced, according to the plea agreement, to five years of
probation – the maximum term of probation permitted by law.
A separate proposed civil consent decree,
which resolves the United States’ civil
CWA penalty claims, imposes a record

$1 billion civil Clean Water Act penalty,
and requires significant measures to improve performance and prevent recurrence,
is pending before U.S. District Judge Carl
J. Barbier of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The charges and allegations pending
against individuals in related cases are
merely accusations, and those individuals
are considered innocent unless and until
proven guilty.
The guilty plea and sentencing announced
today are part of the ongoing criminal investigation by the Deepwater Horizon
Task Force into matters related to the April
2010 Gulf oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon Task Force, based in New Orleans, is
supervised by Assistant Attorney General
Breuer and led by Deputy Assistant Attorney General John D. Buretta, who serves
as the director of the task force. The task
force includes prosecutors from the Criminal Division and the Environment and
Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice; the U.S. Attorney’s Office
for the Eastern District of Louisiana, as
well as other U.S. Attorneys’ Offices; and
investigating agents from: the FBI; Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal
Investigative Division; Environmental
Protection Agency, Office of Inspector
General; Department of Interior, Office of
Inspector General; National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, Office of
Law Enforcement; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service; and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality.
This case was prosecuted by Deepwater
Horizon Task Force Director John D. Buretta, Deputy Directors Derek A. Cohen
and Avi Gesser, and task force prosecutors
Richard R. Pickens II, Scott M. Cullen,
Colin Black and Rohan Virginkar.

GATEKEEPER

Page 10

EPA Reaches $1.6 Million Settlement at Operating Industries
Superfund Site:
Latest settlement part of total $600 million
in cash and cleanup work
SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a
$1.62 million settlement with 47 parties
for contamination at the Operating Industries, Inc. (OII) Superfund Site in Monterey Park, Calif. Each of these parties was
responsible for sending a relatively small
volume, between 4,200 and 110,000 gallons, of liquid hazardous waste to the OII
landfill during decades of operation.
This is the last settlement EPA expects to
sign for the OII site, paving the way for
the community to restore this site to productive use. Over the last 25 years, EPA
has secured $600 million worth of cash
and commitments for cleanup work from
the parties responsible for contamination
at the site. Environmental problems included toxic gas emissions, contaminated
surface water runoff, and pollution of the
local groundwater.
“With this final settlement for the OII
landfill, we’ve reached a key milestone,”
said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional
Administrator for the Pacific Southwest.
“Now we are working with the responsible
parties to ensure that a portion of the site
can be developed for the benefit of the

local economy.”
OII is a 190-acre site divided into
two parcels by the Pomona Freeway,
the 45-acre North Parcel and the 145acre South Parcel. Most of the OII’s
landfill activities took place on the
South Parcel. Most of the North Parcel is currently being remediated in
preparation for potential redevelopment.
EPA finalized the cleanup plan in
1996 which selected a comprehensive
site-wide remedy. The final plan prevents migration of liquids and gases
beyond the landfill perimeter. In addition, a landfill cap and cover has
been installed that prevents rainwater
from seeping into the landfill and gas
from leaking out. These measures
will prevent exposure to contaminated groundwater and ensure that
contamination levels meet federal
cleanup standards.
EPA has entered into a total of nine
consent decrees and eight smaller “de
minimis” settlements with more than
1,150 responsible parties. EPA will
receive $812,000 from the settlement
announced today as reimbursement
for federal response costs related to

the site. The remaining funds will be
used by the potentially responsible
parties to fund cleanup work at the site.
The settlement was published in the
Federal Register on January 28, 2013,
opening a 30-day public comment period.
The OII Site operated as a landfill from
1948 to 1984. EPA identified the OII
Site as an environmental problem in
the early 1980s and placed it on the
National Priorities List in 1986. Over
the course of its operation, the landfill
accepted industrial solid, liquid and
hazardous wastes, as well as municipal
solid waste. The landfill has received
more than 300 million gallons of manifested waste from approximately 4,000
entities.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.epa.gov/superfund/
accomp/success/oii.htm
Link to Federal Register notice: https://
www.federalregister.gov/
articles/2013/01/28/2013-01593/
operating-industries-inc-superfund-site
-monterey-park-ca-notice-of-proposedcercla-administrative-de

LEPC Corner

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 11

San Lorenzo: Ammonia leak at Sara Lee plant Tuesday night
forces evacuations:
San Jose Mercury News –
(California) San Lorenzo: Ammonia leak at Sara Lee plant Tuesday
night forces evacuations. Law enforcement personnel evacuated over
100 employees from workspaces in

Source: http://
www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_22582462/san-lorenzoammonia-leak-at-sara-lee-plant

San Lorenzo, California February
12 after an ammonia leak was
discovered in the refrigeration
system at the nearby Sara Lee
Foods facility. The leak was contained after about 3 hours.

1 dead, 1 injured after explosion at Texas chemical
plant:
KPRC 2 Houston– (Texas) 1
dead, 1 injured after explosion at Texas chemical plant.
A fire caused an explosion at
the Air Liquide cylinder plant

in La Porte seriously injured
one person and left another
unaccounted for. Authorities
are still investigating the cause
of the explosion. Source:

http://wtvr.com/2013/02/10/1dead-1-injured-after-explosionat-texas-chemical-plant/

Hazardous 1600 pound battery acid spill on Wyoming
Street:
Pleasanton Patch –
(California) Hazardous 1600
pound battery acid spill on
Wyoming Street. A large
commercial battery that overturned inside a delivery truck

leaked battery acid in Pleasanton. Local emergency responders contained the spill to
prevent entry into the storm
drain, and the two people exposed to the acid engaged in

self-decontamination. Source:
http://pleasanton.patch.com/
articles/firefighters-stopbattery-acid-spill-on-wyomingstreet

Page 12

GATEKEEPER

Bills would impose tougher chemical security rules: (Continued)
In consultation with DHS officials, the
American Chemistry Council unveiled
a boilerplatetemplate that its member
facilities could use to devise so-called
alternate security programs under the
CFATS regime. Creating alternative
security programs is more efficient then
submitting a conventional site security
plan, which ACC officials describe as
“a cumbersome document containing a
series of yes/no questions regarding
measures to minimize the risk of a terrorist attack or other security threat.”
They argue that an alternative security
plan is more clear than the question and
answer format.
The Society of Chemical Manufacturers
and Affiliates, another industry group,
is also developing an alternative security program template for its members,

vice president of government affairs Bill Allmond told Global Security Newswire on Thursday.
Rick Hind, legislative director for
Greenpeace, argued that the joint
efforts to create alternative security
programs was “just another sign”
that Homeland Security is anxious
to “appease the industry in the
hope of greater cooperation because there is very little they can
really make them do.” Hind, along
with other environmental and labor
activists, has been lobbying the
Environmental Protection Agency
to create chemical security requirements under the Clean Air Act that
go beyond DHS authority.

strongly opposed to EPA involvement
in the matter, and have vowed to prevent the agency from creating such
requirements. Republican-backed efforts to pass chemical security legislation in recent years have favored keeping the relevant authorities within the
Homeland Security Department.
The House Energy and Commerce
Committee is in the “planning stages”
on potential legislation that would
continue CFATS authority at the
Homeland Security Department, Charlotte Baker, spokeswoman for the
panel’s Republican leadership, told
GSN. The current authorization for the
program expires in March.

Congressional Republicans are

3 sickened by chemical leak:
KPRC 2 Houston – (Texas) 3
sickened by chemical leak.
Three people were taken to
the hospital as a precaution
following exposure to a leak

of pivaloyl chloride at the
AkzoNobel plant in Harris
County. Source: http://
www.click2houston.com/
news/3-sickened-by-chemical-

leak/-/1735978/18370974//3k6yisz/-/index.html

Long Beach officials protect river after
ammonia leak:
Long Beach Press-Telegram
– (California) Long Beach
officials protect river after
ammonia leak. A leak in a
4,000 gallon diffuser tank
filled with ammonia led to

emergency officials working to
protect a storm drain from the
spill. Residents were told to
stay indoors as a hazardous
materials team fixed the leak
about 3 hours later. Source:

http://www.presstelegram.com/
breakingnews/ci_22505091/longbeach-officials-protect-river-after
-amonia-leak

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 13

Fire reported at Dalton, Ga., chemical plant:
Associated Press – (Georgia)
Fire reported at Dalton, Ga.,
chemical plant. Firefighters
contained a blaze at the Hacros

industrial chemical manufacturing plant. Nearby
residents were evacuated
from their homes and stu-

dents in two local schools
were told to shelter in place.
Source: http://
www.timesfreepress.com/

news/2013/feb/05/firereported-dalton-gachemical-plant/

Industrial chemical fire:
KTVN 2 Reno – (Nevada) Industrial
chemical fire. A sodium fire broke out
at an industrial building in Lyon

County. Nearby residents were
evacuated until authorities extinguished the blaze. Source: http://

www.ktvn.com/story/20704756/
industrial-chemical-fire

Koch firm to pay $380K fine:
Fort Dodge Messenger – (Iowa;
Kansas) Koch firm to pay
$380K fine. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced February 13 that Koch

Nitrogen Co. LLC will pay
a $380,000 fine for failing
to have proper risk management plans in 2007 and
2007 at two chemical plants

in Dodge City, Kansas, and
Fort Dodge, Iowa, and a pipeline terminal in Marshalltown,
Iowa. Source: http://
www.messengernews.net/

page/content.detail/
id/554962/Koch-firm-to-pay-380K-fine.html?nav=5010

Industry Corner

Page 14

GATEKEEPER

Protect Workers From Carbon Monoxide:

Recently, a worker in a New England
warehouse was found unconscious
and seizing, suffering from carbon
monoxide poisoning. Several other
workers at the site also became sick.
All of the windows and doors were
closed to conserve heat, there was no
exhaust ventilation in the facility, and
very high levels of carbon monoxide
were measured at the site.

using fuel-burning equipment and
tools in buildings or semi-enclosed
spaces without adequate ventilation. This can be especially true
during the winter months when
employees use this type of equipment in indoor spaces that have
been sealed tightly to block out
cold temperatures and wind. Symptoms of carbon monoxide exposure
can include everything from headaches, dizziness and drowsiness to
nausea, vomiting or tightness
across the chest. Severe carbon
monoxide poisoning can cause
neurological damage, coma, and
death.

Every year, workers die from carbon
monoxide poisoning, usually while

Sources of carbon monoxide can
include anything that uses combus-

With the arrival of cold weather,
OSHA is reminding employers to
take necessary precautions to protect
workers from the serious, and sometimes fatal, effects of carbon monoxide exposure.

tion to operate, such as gas generators,
power tools, compressors, pumps,
welding equipment, space heaters, and
furnaces.
To reduce the risk of carbon monoxide
poisoning in the workplace, employers
should install an effective ventilation
system, avoid the use of fuel-burning
equipment in enclosed or partiallyenclosed spaces, use carbon monoxide
detectors in areas where the hazard is
a concern and take other precautions
outlined in OSHA's Carbon Monoxide
Fact Sheet. For additional information
on carbon monoxide poisoning and
preventing exposure in the workplace,
see OSHA's Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Quick Cards (in English and
Spanish).

Are Fluorescent Bulbs Universal Waste or Municipal Waste?
Must green-tipped fluorescent
bulbs be managed as universal
waste, or can they be managed
as municipal waste? Can they
be broken to facilitate consolidation for disposal?
Not all lamps are hazardous
wastes, and those that are not
may be disposed of in municipal
waste management facilities. It
is the responsibility of the generator of the lamp to determine
whether it is a hazardous waste.
One way to make the determination is through the Toxicity
Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). The TCLP attempts to replicate the conditions in a municipal landfill to
detect the mercury concentration of water that would leach
from the landfill. If the mercury
concentration exceeds 0.2 milligrams per liter (mg/L), the lamp
fails the toxicity test and must
be managed as a hazardous
waste (or as a universal waste).
If the TCLP analysis puts the
mercury below the 0.2 mg/L

maximum concentration
limit, the lamp does not
have to be managed as a
hazardous waste or a universal waste.
The amount of mercury in a
low-mercury bulb can
range from 3.5 milligrams
to 4 milligrams compared
with a standard fluorescent
bulb, which ranges from 8
milligrams to 14 milligrams
of mercury. These lamps
may be identified by green
end caps (often referred to
as green-tipped lamps) or
green etchings on the
lamps.
Some generators have
found that an analysis that
costs only a few hundred
dollars saves their facility
several thousand dollars a
year in disposal/recycling
costs. EPA notes, however,
that mercury-containing
lamps often fail the TCLP
and that the test results can
vary considerably, depend-

ing on the lamp manufacturer,
the age of the lamp, and the
laboratory procedures used.
EPA encourages the recycling
of all mercury-containing
lamps, regardless of the mercury content. According to
EPA, if you do not test your
low-mercury lamps and prove
them nonhazardous, you
should assume they are hazardous waste and handle them
accordingly (i.e., under the
hazardous waste rules or the
universal waste rules).
If handling mercurycontaining lamps under the
federal universal waste requirements, both small and
large quantity generators are
required to handle universal
waste lamps as follows:
• Contain any lamp in containers or packages that are
structurally sound, adequate
to prevent breakage, and compatible with the contents of
the lamps.

•

Containers and packages must remain closed
and must lack evidence of
leakage, spillage, or damage that could cause leakage under reasonably foreseeable conditions.
Immediately clean up and
place in a container any
lamp that is broken or any
lamp that shows evidence
of breakage, leakage, or
damage that could cause
the release of mercury or
other hazardous constituents to the environment.
These containers must be
closed, structurally sound,
compatible with the contents of the lamps, and
must lack evidence of leakage, spillage, or damage
that could cause leakage or
releases of mercury or
other hazardous constituents to the environment
under reasonably foreseeable conditions.

Volume XIII, Edition 3

Page 15

PHMSA to issue mandatory accident reporting time limits:
SUMMARY: Owners and operators of gas and hazardous
liquid pipeline systems and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are already required to provide telephonic reports of pipeline incidents and accidents to
the National Response Center
(NRC) promptly, accurately,

and fully communicate the
estimated extent of the
damages. PHMSA is issuing this advisory bulletin to
notify the owners and operators that, as required by
the Pipeline Safety, regulatory Certainty, and Job
Creation Act of 2011, the

agency will issue a proposed
rule to revise telephonic
reporting regulations to establish specific time limits
for telephonic or electronic
notice of accidents and incidents involving pipeline
facilities to the NRC.

To read the entire article go
to: http://www.gpo.gov/
fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-01-30/
pdf/2013-01555.pdf

Data on Nine New TRI Chemicals Now Available:
On January 16, 2013, EPA released
the 2011 TRI National Analysis, an
annual report that displays EPA’s
analysis of the most recent TRI
data. It includes a variety of documents and Web sites that outline
national and local trends in toxic
chemical disposal or other releases
to the environment, as well as
trends in toxic chemicals managed
by TRI facilities. These resources
include an overview of the National
Analysis with additional context
and explanation, briefing slides that

show high-level messages and
trends, and three geographicspecific analyses that highlight
urban communities, large aquatic
ecosystems, and Indian country
and Alaska Native Villages. In
Reporting Year 2011 (RY11),
20,927 facilities reported 4.09 billion pounds of toxic chemicals
disposed of or otherwise released
into the environment, up by 8%
from 2010 to 2011. In the long
term, facility disposal or other releases of TRI chemicals have gen-

erally decreased, down by 8% from
2003 to 2011.
RY11 was the first year that reporting was required on 16 new chemicals that have been classified as
“reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” by the National
Toxicology Program (NTP). Reports were received for nine of the
12 new individually-listed chemicals.

TRANSCAER® (Transportation Community Awareness and Emergency Response) is a voluntary national outreach effort
that focuses on assisting communities prepare for and respond to a possible hazardous material transportation incident. TRANSCAER® members consist of volunteer representatives from the chemical manufacturing, transportation, distributor, and emergency response industries, as well as the government. Visit: http://www.transcaer.com/state.aspx for more information.

Tribal Corner

Page 16

GATEKEEPER

Hopi Police Chief briefs Hopi High staff on proper response to
shooting incident: Stan Bindell The Observer
Hopi Police Chief Jamie Kootswatewa led an "active shooters"
training Jan. 31 at Hopi Jr./Sr.
High School to teach staff how to
respond in the case of a shooting
crisis.
Kootswatewa, a 1992 graduate of
Hopi High School, has a long
history in law enforcement including serving as a corrections officer, a ranger, a special agent, a
police officer and chief of the
Hopi Rangers before taking the
top job at the Hopi Police Department about one year ago.
An active shooter is a shooter in a
confined or populated area. The
objective in these cases is survival.
Kootswatewa talked to the staff at
Hopi Jr./Sr. High about several
cases involving active shooters.
One of the most famous was in
Columbine, Colo. in 1999 when
gunmen killed 15 and wounded
23.

A reservation shooting occurred in Red Lake, Minn.,
where 10 were killed and
seven wounded. This case was
unique because the shooter
took his grandfather's police
car and campus security
guards waved him through the
checkpoints because he was in
a police car.
At Virginia Tech, 32 were
killed and 23 were wounded.
The doors were bolted closed
and since that shooting police
carry bolt cutters in case this
happens again.
In the most recent case, at
Sandy Hook Elementary
School, a shooter killed 20
children and six adults.
Kootswatewa said he prays
that nothing like this happens
at Hopi High, but he wants the
school staff to be prepared. If
an incident occurs, he advises
that staff:

• secure classrooms and work
areas;
• move students away from the
doors;
• take attendance;
• stay away from the windows
and doors;
• know the two nearest exits in
case students and staff need to
leave the building in a hurry;
• remain calm so students don't
panic;
• if gunshots are close, barricade
the door with any bookcases or
furniture in the room; and
• if in the hallway, get in a classroom as soon as possible.

Kootswatewa said there should
be two evacuation routes. He
said prevention is possible
when there is a respectful work
place and when staff make
supervisors aware of any workplace violence.
Kootswatewa said better funding for mental health could also
serve as a deterrent.
"But there is no one profile for
shooters. It could be a drunk or
a disgruntled employee. Not all
shooters have been diagnosed
with mental problems," he said.

If staff can call the police department, police need to know the
location of the shooter, the number of shooters, physical description of shooters and the type of
weapons the shooter is using.
"The first goal is to neutralize the
shooter," Kootswatewa said.

Governor's Tribal Community Outreach:
Visit: http://azgovernor.gov/eop/TribalOutreach.asp for agency contact information.
Tribal Program Link:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/indian

Tribal news:
http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/

Tribal Program Newsletter:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/indian/newslet.html

LET’S HEAR FROM YOU!
Send us your inputs and feedback on the newsletter; including, exercises and other LEPC related activities in which
you've been involved. Let us know what you’d like to see in future editions. Talk to us! We appreciate your input
and look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Mark Howard
Executive Director
Commercial products and services are mentioned for informational purposes only and should not be construed as
AZSERC endorsements.

COMMISSIONERS:

ARIZONA EMERGENCY RESPONSE COMMISSION
5636 E. MCDOWELL ROAD
PHOENIX, AZ 85008-3495
PHONE: (602) 464-6346
FAX:
(602) 464-6519

Visit us on the web:www.azserc.org
AZSERC STAFF
Mark Howard

Executive Director

Roger Soden

HAZMAT Program
Coordinator

Paul Culberson

Sylvia Castillo

Will Humble

ADHS Acting Director

Henry Darwin

ADEQ Director

John Halikowski

ADOT Director

Robert Halliday

ADPS Director

DESIGNEES:
Mark Howard

ADEM

Don Herrington

ADHS

Veronica Garcia

ADEQ

David Denlinger

ADPS

Sonya Herrera

ADOT

ADVISORY COMMITTEE:
Corporation Commission

- Tom Whitmer

Industrial Commission

- Darin Perkins

Admin Asst III

State Mine Inspector

- Joe Hart

State Fire Marshal

- Bob Barger

Radiation Regulatory Agency

- Aubrey Godwin

Department of Agriculture

- Jack Peterson

our Organization

The AZSERC was established by
Arizona Law (Arizona Revised Statutes-Title 26, Chapter 2, Article 3)
and is tasked with the implementation of the Emergency Planning and
Community Right to Know Act
(EPRCA) in Arizona.
This Commission oversees 15
Local Emergency Planning Committees and supports community, industry and government and academia
in: planning, release and incident
reporting, data management guidance for inventory reporting, public
disclosure of information about hazardous chemicals in Arizona as well
as development of training and outreach programs.
The Commission supports individual agency goals and objectives.

ADEM Director (Chair)

Web Portal/
Technology
Coordinator

Chrissy McCullough Admin Asst III

About

Lou Trammell

This is accomplished through the
receipt and coordination of emergency notifications of chemical releases, collection and provision of
chemical inventory information to
interested parties, training and grants
programs.
Additionally, the AZSERC provides consultative services, conducts
and participates in workshops and
coordinates development and review
of plans and programs for 15 Local
Emergency Planning Committees.
Further, the AZSERC serves as a
state clearinghouse for hazardous
chemical emergency preparedness
and planning activities and information through coordination with federal, tribal, state, local governments,
industry and community interest

Arizona Fire Chiefs Association
-Mesa FD

- Brady Leffler

-Yuma FD

- Jack McArthur

Asst. State Attorney General

- Jeffrey Cantrell

SRP

- Daniel Casiraro

Intel Corporation

- Randy Holmes

APS

- Monica Ray

Private Sector

- David
McWilliams

GATEKEEPER NEWSLETTER:
MARK HOWARD – EDITOR IN CHIEF
CHRISSY MCCULLOUGH - EDITOR