News Releases from Region 01

Shipyard Takes Action to Protect Water Quality in Stonington, Maine

BOSTON - Billings Diesel and Marine Services, Inc. will take appropriate steps to protect water quality in Stonington, Maine, under the terms of a settlement with EPA. The company will also pay a fine of $41,000 under the settlement for alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

According to EPA allegations, the company violated the Clean Water Act by discharging wastewater without authorization from boat-washing operations into the Deer Isle Thorofare, a major shipping channel connecting Penobscot Bay to the waters around Mount Desert Island and the open Atlantic Ocean to the east. Such discharges can contain, among other things, sediments (such as rock, sand, and dirt), metals and associated industrial waste, all of which can affect water quality and harm the marine environment.

The Clean Water Act requires that certain industrial facilities, such as shipyards and marinas, have controls in place to prevent process wastewater discharges from polluting nearby waters as well as to take actions to minimize pollutants from being discharged with stormwater into such waterways.

The company has taken steps to address the noncompliance, and in-line with "Next Gen" principles, the company will be sending EPA videos of its new bottom wash capture process so as to confirm it efficiency at capturing the discharge.

More information on how EPA enforces the Clean Water Act (www.epa.gov/enforcement/water-enforcement)