The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently fined Coulter Forge Technologies $36,000 for storm water violations at its Emeryville, Calif., metal forging facility located at 1494 67th St.

Storm water from the facility runs off into a city collection system, which runs directly into the San Francisco Bay.

"Runoff from industrial sites can pose a serious threat to the bay's water quality," said Alexis Strauss, the EPA's Water Division director for the Pacific Southwest region. "The Clean Water Act requires companies to comply with permit requirements and take simple, basic steps to prevent pollutants from contaminating storm water."

During a September 2006 inspection, the EPA discovered the following violations: drums containing waste fluids, surface residues and/or hazardous materials stored outdoors; evidence of spills of oily substances, product wastes and other pollutants; significant amounts of debris covering the facility's storm drains, including metal shavings; outdoor storage items not contained on pallets or under cover; poor housekeeping in the outdoor and scrap bin areas; and a lack of berm construction along the facility's western perimeter.

The EPA also discovered that the company failed to update and revise its pollution prevention plan and conduct and maintain records of the facility's inspections.

Polluted runoff is the leading cause of water pollution in the San Franciso Bay area. Storm water runoff can carry pollutants from industrial sources, metals, oil, grease, acidic wastewater, bacteria, trash and other toxic pollutants into nearby water sources. The EPA requires industrial facilities to prevent water pollution by complying with federal and state water pollution requirements.

Today's settlement follows a December 2006 EPA order that required Coulter Forge Technologies to comply with the storm water permit.

For more information on storm water permit requirements, please visit http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/npdes/stormwater.html.

Source: EPA