Notice of Proposed Settlement of Clean Water Act Class II Administrative Penalty and to Comment

In the Matter of Caltrans District 2, NPDES Permit No. CAS000002

Publication date: July 31, 2015
Comment closing date: September 9, 2015

In accordance with section 309(g) of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1319(g), and the Consolidated Rules of Practice at 40 C.F.R. Part 22, notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement, recorded in a Consent Agreement and Proposed Final Order (“Proposed Consent Agreement”), between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9 (“EPA”), and Caltrans District 2 to resolve the following civil administrative penalty proceeding under section 309(g).

In the Matter of Caltrans District 2, Docket No. CWA-09-2015-0002; Complainant, Director, Enforcement Division, EPA, Region 9, 75 Hawthorne St., San Francisco, CA 94105; Respondent Caltrans District 2 (“Respondent”) is one of twelve district offices of the California Department of Transportation with headquarters in Sacramento, California.

On July 31, 2015, pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 22.13(b) and 22.18(b)(2) and (3), Complainant and Respondent entered into a Proposed Consent Agreement to simultaneously commence and conclude this CWA Class II civil administrative penalty proceeding. The Proposed Consent Agreement requires Respondent to pay to the United States a penalty of eighty thousand dollars ($80,000.00). Payment of this penalty will resolve EPA’s allegations that the Respondent violated Sections 301(a) and 402 of the CWA by failing to comply with the California National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) General Permit for Storm Discharges Associated with Construction and Land Disturbance Activities (Construction CGP) at the Antlers Bridge Replacement project site over Shasta Lake located on Interstate 5 near Lakehead, California from October 2011 to January 2013.

In the Matter of Caltrans District 2, Docket No. CWA-09-2015-0002

Complainant: Kathleen H. Johnson, Director, Enforcement Division, U.S. EPA, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

Respondents: Caltrans District 2, 1657 Riverside Drive, Redding, CA 96001

Description of Business or Activity Conducted by the Respondent: Construction, management and maintenance of the California highway system.

Proposed Order and Penalty: $80,000

Instructions for Submitting Comments

Please provide the following information along with your comments and submit them in accordance with Part 22: Your full name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, the Docket Number (CWA-9-2015-0002), and a concise statement of the basis for and relevant facts supporting any comment for the case to which you are commenting. Persons wishing to comment on this case, including comments on the amount or basis of the proposed penalty, are invited to submit a statement to the EPA Regional Administrator, attention of the Regional Hearing Clerk (address below above), within 40 days of the date of this public notice (40 C.F.R. § 22.45(b)). All comments received within this 40-day period will be considered in the issuance of the final order.

Name, Mailing Address, Telephone Number, and Email of Regional Hearing Clerk

Steven Armsey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX
75 Hawthorne Street (ORC-1)
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 972-3919
r9hearingclerk@epa.gov

For More Information

Persons wishing to receive a copy of Part 22, review the documents filed by the parties in this proceeding, comment upon the proposed penalty assessment, or participate in any hearing that may be held, should contact the Regional Hearing Clerk identified above. Unless otherwise noted the public record for the proceeding is located in the EPA Regional Office at 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105, and the file will be open for public inspection during normal business hours.

Consent Agreement and Proposed Final Order (PDF) (14 pp, 1.5MB, About PDF)