EPA, Justice Department, Alabama and Iowa Say Foundry Agrees to Pay Fine

In a press announcement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Justice Department and the states of Alabama and Iowa announced that the cast iron pipe manufacturing firm McWane Inc. has agreed to pay $4 million to resolve more than 400 violations of federal and state environmental laws. McWane is headquartered in Birmingham, Ala.

The settlement, filed in federal court today, covers 28 of McWane’s manufacturing facilities in 14 states and also requires the company to perform seven environmental projects valued at $9.1 million. 

"In addition to meeting its environmental obligations and taking corrective measures, McWane will go beyond compliance and take action to protect communities that are at the greatest risk for air and water pollution," says Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "The additional environmental projects included in the settlement will protect children, pregnant mothers, local residents and workers from harmful pollution and are an example of securing public health and environmental benefits in addition to those achieved by compliance with our nation’s environmental laws.”

“This is a comprehensive settlement that brings McWane into full environmental compliance at 28 facilities nationwide, and imposes a penalty on the company for its civil environmental violations at those facilities over the past decade,” says Ignacia Moreno, assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division. “As a result of this agreement, McWane has completely re-engineered its environmental management systems to ensure that it remains in compliance, and has committed over $9 million to environmental projects that will remove significant amounts of pollutants from the environment and benefit the surrounding communities.”

The environmental projects McWane will perform will address storm water contamination at numerous locations; reduce mercury emissions in Provo, Utah and Tyler, Texas; reduce volatile organic compounds emissions in Bedford, Ind. and Anniston, Ala.; and enhance air quality in Coshocton, Ohio. 

Additionally, McWane has already undertaken corrective measures to resolve the violations, at a cost of more than $7.6 million.   

The settlement resolves civil violations over the past decade of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as alleged by the United States, Alabama, and Iowa in the complaint.

  As part of the settlement, the United States also required McWane to develop and implement a corporate-wide environmental management system (EMS) to promote environmental compliance, achieve pollution prevention and enhance overall environmental performance.

The agreement requires McWane to conduct an audit of the EMS to evaluate the adequacy of the system.  In addition, McWane has modified its corporate-wide stormwater pollution prevention plan and will develop or upgrade facility-specific plans as part of the agreement.