UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION Ill 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-2029
Richard Christopher, Manager New Castle SanitationAuthority 110 East Washington Street P.O. Box 1404 New Castle, Pennsylvania 16101 

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Re: Administrative Order for Compliance and Request for Information, EPA DocketNo. CWA03-2011-0272DN DearMr. McCurdy: Enclosed is anAdministrative Order ("Order") and information request issuedthis date pursuantto Section 308 and Section 309(a) ofthe CleanWater Act (the "Act"), as amended, 33 U.S.C. 

### § 1318 and 1319(a). Please provide a signed written confmnationofyour intentionto comply withthis request to Chad D. Harsh, EPA Region III, atthe address provided in Section VI, within five (5) days ofreceipt ofthis·Information Request. Yourresponses to this request mustbe accompanied by a certificatethat is signed and dated by you orthe personwho is authorized byyouto respond to the request within fifteen (15) days unless**oth~rwise** stated. The certificationmust statethat the response is complete and contains all information and documentation available to youpursuantto the request. Section IV, Paragraph40 provides a Statement ofCertification for this purpose. You should carefully readthe contents ofthe enclosed Order and informationrequest, and communicate to eachresponsible official, agent oremployeethe actions which each such personmusttake to ensure compliance with its terms. Failure to comply withthe terms ofthe Order and informationrequest may result infurther enforcement actions beingtaken, including a civil suitfor penalties and injunctive relief, ora criminal prosecution as appropriate. Ifyourequire any information orassistance regarding this matter, please contact Chad D. Harsh, U.S. EPA RegionIII, NPDES Enforcement, 215-814-2633 or StephenField, Water Branch Chiefinthe Office ofRegional Counsel, 215-814-2603. Sincerely, 

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Water Protection Division Enclosures

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### IN THEMATTER OF: New Castle Sanitation Authority 110 East Washington Street P.O. Box 1404 New Castle, Pennsylvania 16101
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### >r-- .rrl c..rt Docket No. CWA-03-20**11-02~** -J
FINDINGS OF VIOLATION ORDER FOR COMPLIANCE AND REQUEST FOR INFORMATION



### I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY 1
. This Order for Compliance and Request for Information ("Order and Request") is issued under the authority vested in the Administrator ofthe Environmental Protection Agency (hereinafter "EPA") under Sections 308 and 309(a) ofthe Clean Water Act ("CWA" or "Act"), 33 US
.C. 

### §§ 1318 and 1319(a). The Administrator has delegated these authorities to the Regional Administrator ofRegion III, who in tum has delegated them to the Director ofthe Water Protection Division ofRegion III. 

### II. STATUTORYAND REGULATORY BACKGROUND 2
. Section 30l(a) ofthe Act, 33 U.S.C. 

### § 1311(a), prohibits the discharge ofany pollutants (other than dredged or fill material) from a. point source into waters ofthe United States except in compliance with a permit issued pursuant to the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (''NPDES") program under Section 402 ofthe Act, 33 U
.S.C. § 1342. 3. EPA is authorized under Section 308 ofthe CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1318, to require owners and operators ofpoint sources to establish records and make such reports as may be necessary to carry out the purpose ofthe Act, including but not limited to: (a) Developing or assisting in the development ofany effluent limitation, or other limitation, prohibition, effluent standard, pretreatment standard, or standard of performance under the CW A;(b) Determining whether any person is in violation ofany such effluent limitation, or other limitation, prohibition or effluent standard, pretreatment standard, or standard ofperformance; (c) Any requirement under Section 308 ofthe CWA, 33 U.S.C. § 1318; or (d) Carrying out Sections 305,311,402,404, and 504 ofthe CWA, 33 U.S.C. §§ 1315, 1321, 1342, 1344, and 1364. 4. Section 402(a) ofthe Act, 33 U.S
.C. § 1342(a), provides that EPA may issue permits under the NPDES program for the discharge ofpollutants from point sources to waters of the United States
. The discharges are subject to specific terms and conditions as prescribed in an NPDES permit. 5. "Discharge ofa pollutant" includes any addition ofany pollutant or combination of pollutants to waters ofthe United States from any point source. 40 C
.F
.R. § 122.2
. 6. Section 502(6) ofthe Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1362(6), defines "pollutant" to include, inter alia, sewage, sludge, biological material and industrial, municipal and agricultural waste. 7. Section 502(14) ofthe Act, 33 U
.S.C
. § 1362(14) defines "point source" as "any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to, any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well [or] discrete fissure
..." 8. EPA is the pretreatment "Approval Authority", as that term is defined by 40 C.F.R. § 403.3(c), in the Commonwealth ofPennsylvania. 9. Pursuant to Section 402(b) ofthe Act, 33 U.S.C. 

### § 1342(b), EPA authorized the Pennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Protection ("PADEP") to issue NPDES permits within the Commonwealth ofPennsylvania ("PA")
. 

### III. EPA FINDINGS AND ALLEGATIONS 10. New Castle Sanitation Authority ("Respondent") is a "person" within the meaning of Section 502(5) ofthe Act, 33 U.S
.C. 

### § 1362(5)
. 11. Respondent, at all times relevant to this Order, has or operated a publicly owned treatment works, as thatterm is defined by 40 C
.F.R. § 403.3, located New Castle, PA ("the Facility"). 12. Respondent operated the Facility pursuant to NPDES PermitNo. NPDES PermitNo. PA00227551 ("Permit"). 13. Upon information and belief, the NewCastle POTW had been accepting oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewaters for treatment. 14. Respondent's pretreatmentreport for calendar year 2009 indicates that it is believed that gas brine wastes were impacting the treatment plant resulting in "higher sludge blanket
2levels that are more easily upset and washed out during rainfall induced high flow events." 15. A January 31, 2011 letter from EPA notified Respondent, among other things, the need to characterize the waste, the Authority's responsibility to evaluate the need for local limits for new waste before allowing the discharge ofthe waste, and the need to develop a sitespecific inhibition criteria for the pollutants ofconcern. 16. Respondent received a letter from PADEP dated March 18, 2011 requesting that Respondent sample its effluent for total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, alkalinity, chloride, sulfate, bromide, Gross Alpha, Radium 226 and 228, and Uranium. 17. EPA conducted a NPDES file review in the Northwest and Southwest Regional Offices ofPennsylvania Department ofEnvironmental Protection April 3-8, 2011. 

### IV. VIOLATIONS 18. The allegations ofParagraphs 1through 17 are realleged and incorporated herein by reference. 19. Respondent is the owner and operator of, and NPDES permittee for, the Facility and is legally responsible for all discharges from the Facility. 20
. Part A, Section 1 ofthe Permit prescribes effluent limitations for the Respondent's discharge. 21. A summary table ofeffluent limit exceedences, as reported on discharge monitoring reports ("DMRs") by Respondent, is attached as Appendix A. 22. The effluent exceedences identified in Appendix A constitute violations ofthe Pennit and Section 301(a) ofthe Act. 

### V. CONCLUSION OF LAW 23. Respondent's failures to comply with Permit effluent limitations constitute a violation of Section 301 ofthe CWA, 33 U.S.C § 1311. 

### VI. ORDER AND REQUEST AND NOW, this 

# :l6**\l~** day ofSeptember, 2011, Respondent is hereby ORDERED, pursuant to Section 309(a) ofthe Act, 33 U.S.C. § 1319(a), to undertake the following activities and pursuant to Section 308 ofthe CWA, 33 U.S.C.§ 1318, to provide the following information within fifteen (15) calendar days upon receipt ofthis Order and Request, unless otherwise specified. 24. Respondent shall immediately discontinue its acceptance ofoil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater until an evaluation ofthe program can be completed as 3described below. 25. Within fifteen (15) days upon receipt onthis Order and Request, Respondent shall submit a plan for the development oflocal limits for pollutants ofconcern associated with oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater. 26. Within fifteen (15) days upon receipt on this Order and Request, Respondent shall submit a plan for the development ofsite-specific inhibition criteria for the pollutants ofconcern associated with oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater. 27. Respondent shall immediately take whatever action necessary to correct the deficiencies and eliminate and prevent recurrence ofthe violations cited above, and come into compliance with all ofthe applicable requirements ofthe Permit and the Act and its implementingregulations. 28. Respondent shall begin composite sampling, ofa minimum of8-hour duration, ofits effluent for the analysis for TDS, chloride, bromide, sulfate, Gross Alpha, Radium 226 and 228 and Uranium upon receipt ofthis Order and Request and biweekly thereafter. Samples should be analyzed by an accredited laboratory using EPA-approved methods. Respondent shall submit to EPA and PADEP the additional monitoring data oftheir effluent with its monthly DMRs to characterize its water quality. 29. Respondent will not be required to perform the sampling and analysis prescribed in paragraph 28 above, ifwithin 5 days ofreceipt ofthis Order and Request, Respondent certifies that it will not accept any oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater. To meet the requirements ofthisparagraph, Respondent must sign and return to EPA the attached certification (Attachment B). 30. Within fifteen (15) days upon receipt onthis Order and Request, Respondent shall submit a written report detailing the specific actions taken to correct the violations cited herein and explaining why such actions are anticipated to be sufficient to preventrecurrence of these or similar violations. Respondent shall submit copies ofall investigations conducted as a result ofthe effluent limit exceedences listed in Appendix A and copies of documents related to such investigation orprovide explanation why such investigations were not conducted. 31. The report referenced in Paragraph 30 shall specify whether the acceptance ofoil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater caused orcontributed to the effluent limit exceedences listed in Attachment A. 32. Respondent shall provide EPAwith an electronic spreadsheet that summarizes the information recorded in the Facility's monthly DMRs for the years 2006-2011. 33. Respondent shall provide EPA with the day, month, and year when the Facility first accepted oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater. 34. Respondent shall provide EPA with the notification the Facility gave to PADEP 4regarding the Facility's acceptance ofoil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater referenced in Paragraph 33. 35. Respondent shall provide EPA with documentation ofPADEP's authorization for the Facility's acceptance ofoil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater referenced in Paragraph 33. 36. Respondent shallprovide EPA with all characterization evaluations ofincoming wastes with source identification since the date referenced in Paragraph 33. 37. Respondent shall provide EPA with copies ofall permit amendment applications including, but not limited to, applications submitted to notify the permitting authority ofa proposed change in the type wastes received at the Facility since the date referenced in Paragraph 33. 38. Respondent shall provide EPA with the Facility's standard operating procedures for sampling the hauled wastewater at the truck unloading zone. 39. Respondent shall provide EPA with the Facility's method for determining whether or not to accept hauled wastewater at the truck unloading zone based on the sampling procedure referenced in Paragraph 38. 40. Respondent shall provide EPA with all investigations to causes for effluent exceedences in Appendix A. 41. Within five (5) calendar days ofthe effective date ofthis Order and Request, Respondent shall submit to EPA a certification, signed by a responsible official ofRespondent's intent to comply with this Order and Request. 42. Unless otherwise stated, Respondent shall provide EPA all submissions pursuant to this Order and Request within fifteen (15) calendar days ofreceipt ofthis Order and Request. All submissions pursuantto this Order and Request shall be signed, and dated by a responsible official ofthe Respondent, and include the following certificiation: "Icertify that the information containedin or accompanying this submission is true, accurate, andcomplete. As to the identifiedportion(s) of this submission for which I cannotpersonally verify its truth andaccuracy, I certify as the responsible official havingsupervisory responsibility for theperson(s) who, acting under my direct instructions, made the verification, that this

information is true, accurate, andcomplete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including thepossibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations.

5By
________________________ _ (Signature) (Title) (Date)

The submission and certification shall be submitted to: Chad D. Harsh NPDES Enforcement Branch Mail Code 3WP42 U
.S. EPA, Region III 1650 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029 

### VII. GENERAL PROVISIONS 43. Issuance ofthis Order and Request shall not be deemed an election by EPA to forego any administrative, civil, orcriminal action to seek penalties, fines, or any other appropriate reliefunder the Act for the violations cited herein. EPA reserves the right to seek any remedy available under the law that it deems appropriate for the violations cited. Failure to comply and/or respond to this Order and Request, orproviding misleading or false information, may subject youto civil and/or criminal sanctions pursuantto, 33 U.S.C. § 1319, 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and/or a civiljudicial action initiated by EPA and the U.S. Department ofJustice
. IfEPA initiates such an action, Respondent may be subject to civil penalties ofup to $37,500 per day ofviolation pursuant to 33 U.S
.C. § 1319 and 40 C
.F.R. Part 19. 44. Ifa criminaljudicial action is initiated, and Respondent is convicted ofa criminal offense under Section 309 ofthe Act, 33 U.S.C. 

### § 1319, Respondent may be subject to a monetary fine and/or imprisonment, and may become ineligible for certain contracts, grants, or loans under Section 508 ofthe Act33 U.S.C. 

### § 1368. 45
. Respondent shall permit EPA or its authorized representative to inspect any site under its control or authority at reasonable times to confirm that Respondent is in compliance with this Order and Request and with any applicable permit and the Act and its implementing regulations. EPA reserves all existing inspection authority. 46. This Order and Request does not constitute a waiver or modification ofthe terms or conditions ofany NPDES permit. Compliance with the terms and conditions ofthis Order and Request does not relieve the Respondent ofits obligations to comply with any applicable federal, state, or local law, regulation or ordinance. 647. Violation ofthe terms and conditions ofthis Order and Request constitutes an additional violation ofthe Act, and may result in a civil action for injunctive reliefand/or apenalty not to exceed $37,500 per day ofsuch violation, pursuant to Sections 309(b) and (d) of the Act, 33 U.S.C. Section 1319(b) and (d). In addition, Section 309 provides criminal sanctions for knowing or negligent violations ofthe Act including imprisonment and fines ofup to $50,000 per day ofviolation
. 

### VIII. EFFECTIVE DATE This ORDERAND REQUEST is effective upon receipt.

# (jk~~~- Water Protection Division EPA, Region III

7I certify that New Castle Sanitation Authority, which operates under NPDES Permit No. PA00227551 will not accept any oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewaters at this facility. For the purpose ofthis certification, oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewaters includes, but is not limited to: ground waterproduced from coal seams, shale formation ground water, well drilling fluids, fracturing fluids, shale gas produced water, water produced from conventional and unconventional wells, pit water, containment pond water, and storage pond water. IfNew Castle Sanitation Authority desires to accept oil and gas exploration and/or production wastewater after signing this certification, New Castle Sanitation Authority will, prior to acceptance: notify EPA Region III and PADEP ofits intent, take all actions necessary to comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA) and receive all necessary approvals from EPA and PADEP. As a responsible official, I certify that this statement is true and correct. I am aware that violations ofCWA are punishable under the civil and criminal provisions ofSection 309 ofthe CW A, which provide for the assessment ofpenalties, injunctive reliefand imprisonment.


### By
________________________ _ (Signature)

(Title)

(Date)Appendix A. Monthly Discharge Monitoring Report Effluent Violations