Posted on 09/27/2003 4:51:00 AM PDT by snopercod
Federal environmental regulators have denied that the fine for a Penrose metal stamping plant, alleged to have violated hazardous waste rules, will reach $1.5 billion, as stated by the owner.
Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday called the enormous estimate by American Carolina Stamping owner Steve McNabb absurd and said they had not yet figured what the company's fine could be for alleged hazardous waste violations stemming from a 1999 raid on the plant off U.S. 64 West near the Transylvania County line.
McNabb said earlier this week that according to a Sept. 4 complaint and compliance order he received from the Resource and Conservation and Recovery Act enforcement and compliance branch of the EPA, he would owe $1.5 billion.
He could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
Counts against the plant included failing to make a hazardous waste determination, receipt and storage of hazardous waste without a permit and disposal of hazardous waste without a permit.
McNabb has denied doing anything wrong with the waste in question, a solvent containing alcohol, hexane and methane called "ZEP ID Red Liquid."
The solvent, which is used to clean metal parts, is considered hazardous because it can ignite at 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degree Fahrenheit, the order said.
Some counts carried more than one violation each finable at $27,500 per day.
McNabb said the order would fine him back to 1994.
Ken Lapierre, section chief of the RCRA enforcement branch said they have not calculated the fines yet and were waiting to sit down with McNabb at an informal hearing.
"We like to have that meeting first with people to give them a chance to bring forward any information or to talk about any issues that might be related to the facts. Then we calculate a proposed settlement penalty," Lapierre said. "We find by doing it that way we come up with much better and more realistic penalties. ... so we don't just come up with this in a vacuum."
McNabb said he wants to bring members of the media and representatives from one or more elected officials to the hearing.
EPA officials, though, say the presence of media would negate the purpose of the meeting.
"We're not trying to hide anything," Lapierre said. "But the purpose is to have very frank discussions, and people just don't do that when you have people taking notes."
There are no federal statutes that say such meetings have to be open to the media, he said.
Whether or not the informal meeting occurs, an administrative hearing overseen by an administrative law judge will follow.
That hearing is not a criminal hearing.
The criminal investigations division of the EPA carried out the initial investigation against American Carolina Stamping, which makes wire forms, electrical contacts and metal stamping products.
Those agents raided the plant April 15, 1999. This is the first official response McNabb has gotten from the EPA in the four years since the raid, he said. Statutes of limitations say that charges have to be brought or the case dropped after five years.
McNabb tried to fight the investigation, enlisting the support of Brevard Republicans U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor and N.C. Rep. Trudi Walend, and spoke about alleged EPA abuses on a "60 Minutes" news program on that topic.
Lapierre said he did not know why there had been no criminal indictment in the four years.
The area supervisor for the criminal investigations division in Atlanta, Tyrone Hicks, could not be reached for comment.
Burgess can be reached at 694-7860 or by e-mail at joel.burgess@hendersonvillenews.com.
The EPA and the NC Dept. of Environmental and Natural Resources have been harassing Mr. McNabb for over five years. He has never been charged with a crime. His house was ransacked while he was held at gunpoint in front of his employees. His firearms were confiscated. Now they are trying to put him out of business.
Read the original story here: Suit Filed Over 1999 EPA Raid (EPA, DENR, Janet Reno)
The Hendersonville News, being owned by the New York Times, tries to change the subject away from the police-state tactics which have been used against Mr. McNabb, to bickering over the amount of the fine.
American Carolina Stamping is just a small business in Penrose, NC, worth maybe $200,000. No way they can afford billions (or even millions) in fines.
From the original 1999 thread:
We, at American Carolina Stamping, would like to thank all of you for your support. For the last two years we have repettively suffered from this event. 60 minutes did a wonderful job of bringing national attention to our woes. However, our story is much juicier than the program had time to share. The list of wrongs they commited against us is endless. For example, last night there was no mention of how they broke into Jay McNabb's home (which is adjacent to the property)with their guns drawn, kicking in the doors, looking through his cabinets, and then lying about the whole thing. Jay's house was not covered by the search warrent, but that did not hinder these tyrants from abusing his constitutional rights. This could happen to anyone. Just imagine if you have a home next to a business of any kind, and the EPA-CID decide to abuse their power in your town. According to them, if you live next to a business, they have the right to kick open your doors with their guns pointed in your face. This should scare you. They went to the homes of all of our employees, ex and present with their guns and flak jackets. One of our Spanish speaking employees was told that if she didn't tell them where ACS was dumping the chemicals, they were going to deport her without giving her a chance to tell her husband and children goodbye. She has been an employee here for four years and could not tell them where the dumping was because there wasn't any going on. She was scared to death, with good reason. What will they not stoop to? The list goes on and on. If anyone is interested in hearing more please feel free to email us. We need all the support we can get. Taking on the government is a huge, scary task. Steve McNabb is a Vietnam Vet. He knows what it is like to fight for this country, and at 59 years old he is doing it again. Thank you, Dusty McNabb 13 Posted on 03/26/2001 07:20:07 PST by American Carolina Stamping (acs1@citcom.ney)
Really, really weak.
Just how small is he? :)
"We're not trying to hide anything," Lapierre said. "But the purpose is to have very frank discussions, and people just don't do that when you have people taking notes."
The EPA offical "forgot" to acknowledge Mr. McNabb also wants to bring representatives of elected officials.
I don't blame the EPA for wanting to keep the hearing secret. That way they can threaten, browbeat, or say whatever they want and then deny anything if challenged. Or conceivably they are looking for a face-saving way out (not highly likely). At the least, McNabb should have his lawyer and a good tape recorder along, maybe even a videocamera set up.
It will be interesting to watch and see if the EPA has changed it's stripes since the good ol' Reno and Browner days where everything looked like it could be solved by a tank, a jackbooted raid (as in this case), a starchamber hearing and horrendous fines and jail time for the unlucky caught in their gunsights.
Probably not. An agency like this is usually chock full of the sort of bureacrats who are power-trippers and ideologues of the worst stripe. They don't go away easily once they get their hooks into these jobs. They become crusaders, not public servants, on a Mission From Gaia. The public tends to take on the coloring of something to be conquered rather than obliged.
Plant owner may face $1.5 billion in fines (EPA is at it again!)
McNabb was out of compliance with the state, not the EPA. The state then contracted out the enforcement to EPA. It would be safe to say that the state employees found McNabb to be abrasive and confrontational and advised the feds of this.
It is difficult to draw conclusion as to what McNabb may or may not done because of two things. First, the regulaters are not granting interviews and second, the media never gets the technical details correct.
There is one thing that is clear however. McNaab stated that his employees were required to clean the equipment with the Zep coumpound which is 90% hexane. The man should have his ass whipped and thrown in jail for that. This fact also gives one the insight into what else he may or may not have done.
Examples like this aren't the reason, the reason is because of unions and others who want need to make a decent wage...< /sarcasm >
Why? This stuff is hardly hazardous at all. It contains Hexane, Isopropyl Alcohol (common rubbing alcohol), and Methanol (common wood alcohol). None of the ingredients are carcinogenic, unlike the gasoline you put in your car every week. The only adverse effects are possible eye and skin irritation, and dizziness, etc. from prolonged exposure. MSDS for this product.
Furthermore, nobody is alleging that McNabb was using this solvent improperly, only that he dumped some in the lot out back.
Fast-Evaporating Industrial Solvent Degreaser PROD. #0570BENEFITS: Zep I.D. Red is a fast-evaporating industrial degreaser designed for use where fast evaporation and no residue are desirable. This versatile, fast-evaporating liquid degreaser combines speed in cleaning with high solvent power, but without chlorinated solvents or ozone depleting compounds (ODCs), such as 1,1,1, trichloroethane. Zep I.D.Red leaves no residue and is non-corrosive to metals. It may be used in a variety of applications by spraying and/or wiping. Removes oil deposits, grease, dirt, tar and lubricating compounds from circuit boards, electrical contacts, electric motors, machinery parts, electronic equipment, molds, textiles, etc. It's non-emulsifying formula does not interfere with oil/water separators. It is a thin, colorless liquid with a mild, solvent odor.
On top of that, it evaporates so fast it is not a very effective wiping solvent. Then he complains about $8 /gal cost. There are plenty of aqeous solns that are more effective and cheaper. He could even use mineral spirits if he just has to be a bad boy.
He is using this compound in a vapor degreaser. Prior to using this he used either a chlorinated solvent or a CFC. When the state set the threshholds on reporting and recordkeeping he made the switch because he can use 50 tons per year of the Zep without reporting whereas the CFC would require reporting at 6 tons per year.
Lets take his word for it, he is not dumping or burning. He does say he lets the material evaporate. Now in his degreasing process he is going to emit. That is the nature of the process. But he does have to handle the spent solvent responsibly. I wonder what he does with those drums with all the sludge in them after the smog gasses have evaporated? Munincipal Landfill?
All he has to do is pay a processor to haul this stuff away. They will do his paperwork for him and haul it on their trucks. They will distill it and sell the btus to the cement kiln and send the sludge to the hazardous waste landfill. Everybodys covered. Should a regulator want to see his record, all he has to do is show him the purchasing records and the processor records and the difference went up the stack.
Is this man being picked on? What about all the others across the country and around the world who are doing an identical or similar process. Is he the only person using the Zep product?
I e-mailed Zep about this.
Let's face it. Hydrocarbon solvents just work better than their politically-correct water-based substitutes. The recent loss of the space shuttle Columbia is a perfect example of what happens when you replace Trichloroethylene with the lemon-scented, environmentally-friendly, water-based stuff.
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