STATE OF INDIANA

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SS:

BEFORE THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF

 

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COUNTY OF MARION

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ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

 

COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT

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OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT,

 

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Complainant,

 

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v.

 

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Case # 2019-26527-H

 

 

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indiana Air national guard 122 FW,

 

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Respondent.

 

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AGREED ORDER

 

Complainant and Respondent desire to settle and compromise this action without hearing or adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and consent to the entry of the following Findings of Fact and Order. Pursuant to Indiana Code (“IC”) 13-30-3-3, entry into the terms of this Agreed Order does not constitute an admission of any violation contained herein. Respondent’s entry into this Agreed Order shall not constitute a waiver of any defense, legal or equitable, which Respondent may have in any future administrative or judicial proceeding, except a proceeding to enforce this order.

 

I.  FINDINGS OF FACT

 

1.            Complainant is the Commissioner (“Complainant”) of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (“IDEM”), a department of the State of Indiana created by Indiana Code (“IC”) 13-13-1-1.

 

2.            Respondent is Indiana Air National Guard 122 FW (“Respondent”), which owns/operates the facility with United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) ID No. IND 000 816 025, located at 3005 Ferguson Rd., in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana (“Site”).

 

3.            IDEM has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject matter of this action.

 

4.            Pursuant to IC 13-30-3-3, IDEM issued a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) via Certified Mail/personal service to:

 

Christopher Campbell

Indiana Air National Guard 122 FW

3005 Ferguson Rd.

Fort Wayne, IN 46809

 

5.         Respondent most recently notified the EPA and IDEM of Small Quantity Generator (“SQG”) activities. IDEM has no indication that Respondent ceased SQG activities at the Site in 2018, and thus believes that Respondent was required to submit a 2018 annual manifest report by March 1, 2019.

 

6.         IDEM developed annual manifest reporting forms called the ID Form and the Form OS.

 

7.         IDEM’s, Regulatory Reporting Section, sent electronic emails to Respondent on December 26, 2018 stating IDEM records indicate Respondent is either a SQG or LQG generator of hazardous waste in at least one calendar month in 2018.  If this was not correct Respondent was to update the Handler ID Form which was attached to the email.  On May 1, 2019, IDEM sent another email that IDEM had not yet received Respondent’s 2018 annual manifest report and requiring that it be submitted within thirty (30) days.

 

8.         A Violation Letter was issued to Respondent on July 10, 2019, stating that IDEM has not yet received Respondent’s 2018 annual manifest report and required that it be submitted by July 26, 2019.

 

9.         During an investigation conducted by a representative of IDEM, the following violation was found:

 

a.         Pursuant to IC 13-22-4-3.1(b), an SQG, i.e., a person that generates, in any one or more calendar months of a calendar year:

 

a)         more than one hundred (100) kilograms but less than one thousand (1,000) kilograms of hazardous waste;

b)         less than one (1) kilogram of acute hazardous waste; or

c)         less than one hundred (100) kilograms of material from the cleanup spillage of acute hazardous waste; or

 

accumulates at least one thousand (1,000) kilograms of hazardous waste or less than one (1) kilogram of acute hazardous waste shall, before March 1 of each year, submit to the department on forms provided by the department, a report that summarizes the person's hazardous waste shipments during the previous calendar year.

 

A review of IDEM records pertaining to the Site revealed that, as of January 14, 2020, Respondent had not submitted a 2018 annual manifest report.

 

10.       Respondent submitted the 2018 Annual Manifest Report via email on February 18, 2020.

 

11.       Orders of the Commissioner are subject to administrative review by the Office of Environmental Adjudication under IC 4-21.5; however, in recognition of the settlement reached, Respondent acknowledge notice of this right and waive any right to administrative and judicial review of this Agreed Order.

 

II.  ORDER

 

1.            This Agreed Order shall be effective (“Effective Date”) when it is approved by Complainant or Complainant’s delegate, and has been received by Respondent. This Agreed Order shall have no force or effect until the Effective Date.

 

2.         Respondent is assessed and agrees to pay a civil penalty of Two Thousand and Two Hundred Dollars ($2,200). Said penalty amount shall be due and payable to the “Environmental Management Special Fund” within thirty (30) days of the Effective Date; the 30th day being the “Due Date.”

 

3.         Civil penalties are payable by check to the “Environmental Management Special Fund.”  Checks shall include the Case Number of this action and shall be mailed to:

 

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

Accounts Receivable

IGCN, Room 1340

100 North Senate Avenue

Indianapolis, IN 46204

 

4.         In the event that the monies due to IDEM pursuant to this Agreed Order are not paid on or before their Due Date, Respondent shall pay interest on the unpaid balance at the rate established by IC 24-4.6-1. The interest shall be computed as having accrued from the Due Date until the date that Respondent pays any unpaid balance. Such interest shall be payable to the “Environmental Management Special Fund,” and shall be payable to IDEM in the manner specified in Paragraph 3, above.

 

5.         Signatories to this Agreed Order certify that they are fully authorized to execute this Agreed Order and legally bind the party they represent.

 

6.            This Agreed Order shall apply to and be binding upon Respondent and all successors and assigns. Respondent shall provide a copy of this Agreed Order, if in force, to any subsequent owners, successors, or assigns before ownership rights are transferred.

 

7.            No change in ownership, corporate, or partnership status of Respondent shall in any way alter the Respondent’s status or responsibilities under this Agreed Order.

 

8.            Respondent shall ensure that all contractors, firms, and other persons performing work under this Agreed Order comply with the terms of this Agreed Order.

 

9.            In the event that any terms of this Agreed Order are found to be invalid, the remaining terms shall remain in full force and effect and shall be construed and enforced as if this Agreed Order did not contain the invalid terms.

 

10.           This Agreed Order is not and shall not be interpreted to be a permit or a modification of an existing permit. This Agreed Order, and IDEM’s review or approval of any submittal made by Respondent pursuant to this Agreed Order, shall not in any way relieve Respondent of the obligation to comply with the requirements of any applicable permits or any applicable Federal or State laws or regulations.

 

11.           Complainant does not, by its approval of this Agreed Order, warrant or aver in any manner that Respondent’s compliance with any aspect of this Agreed Order will result in compliance with the provisions of any permit, order, or any applicable Federal or State law or regulation. Additionally, IDEM or anyone acting on its behalf shall not be held liable for any costs or penalties Respondent may incur as a result of Respondent’s efforts to comply with this Agreed Order.

 

12.           Nothing in this Agreed Order shall prevent or limit IDEM’s rights to obtain penalties or injunctive relief under any applicable Federal or State law or regulation, except that IDEM may not, and hereby waives its right to, seek additional civil penalties for the violation specified in the NOV.

 

13.           Nothing in this Agreed Order shall prevent IDEM or anyone acting on its behalf from communicating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) or any other agency or entity about any matters relating to this enforcement action. IDEM or anyone acting on its behalf shall not be held liable for any costs or penalties Respondent may incur as a result of such communications with the U.S. EPA or any other agency or entity.

 

14.           This Agreed Order shall remain in effect until IDEM issues a Resolution of Case letter to Respondent.

 

TECHNICAL RECOMMENDATION:

RESPONDENT:

Department of Environmental Management

 

 

 

By:________________________

By:  _________________________

 

Linda McClure, Section Chief

 

 

Enforcement Section

Printed: ______________________

Office of Land Quality

 

 

Title: ________________________

 

 

Date: _______________

Date: _______________________

 

 

 

 

 

COUNSEL FOR RESPONDENT:

 

 

 

 

 

By: ________________________

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date: ______________________

 

APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL

MANAGEMENT THIS

______

DAY OF

________________________, 20_____.

 

 

For the Commissioner:

 

 

 

Signed 3/18/20______

 

Peggy Dorsey, Assistant Commissioner

 

Office of Land Quality