ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 

[Docket ID Number EPA-HQ-OECA-2015-0540] 

Clean Water Act Class II: Proposed Administrative Settlement, Penalty Assessment and 

Opportunity to Comment Regarding Comcast Cable Communications, L.L.C. 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The EPA has entered into a Consent Agreement with Comcast Cable 

Communications, L.L.C. (Comcast or Respondent) to resolve violations of the Clean Water Act 

(CW A) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and their 

implementing regulations. 

The Administrator is hereby providing public notice of this Consent Agreement and proposed 

Final Order (CAFO), and providing an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the · 

CWA and EPCRA portions of the CAFO, pursuant to CWA Section 3 11 (b)(6)(C), 33 U.S.C. 

1321 (b)(6)(C). Upon closure of the public comment period, the CAFO and any public comments 

will be forwarded to the Agency's Environmental Appea ls Board (EJ\B). 

DATES: Comments are due on or before [insert date 30 daysji-om date ofpublication in fhe 

Federal Register]. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments. identified by Docket lD No. EPA-HQ-OECA-201 5-

0540, by one of the following methods: 

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions for submitting comments. 

• Email: docket.oeca@epa.gov, Attention Docket 10 No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2015-0540. 

• Fax: (202) 566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-20 15-0540. 
• Mail: Enforcement and Compliance Docket Information Center, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue. NW, Washington. 

D.C. 20460, Attention Docket ID o. EPA-HQ-OECA-2015-0540. 

• Hand Delivery: Enforcement and Compliance Docket Information Center in the EPA 

Docket Center (EPA/DC), EPA West, Room B 3334, 130 1 Constit11tion Avenue, NW, 

Washington. D.C. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30a.m. 

to 4:30p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number 

for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1744. and the telephone number for the Enforcement 

and Compliance Docket is (202) 566-1927. Such deliveries are only accepted during the 

Docket's normal hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 

deliveries of boxed information. 

Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OECA-20 15-0540. The EPA's 

policy is that all comments received will be included in the public docket without change and 

may be made available online at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 

provided, unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Do not submit 

information that you consider to be CBl or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov. 

The www.regulations.gov website is an ·'anonymous access" system. which means the EPA will 

not know your identity or contact inform~tion unless you provide it in the body of your 

comment. If you send an e-mail comment directly to the EPA without going through 

www.regulations.gov, your e-ma il address will be automatically captured and included as part of 

the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available on the Internet. If you submit 

an electronic comment, the EPA recommends that you include your name and other contact 

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information in the body of your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. If the EPA 

cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification. 

the EPA may not be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of encryption. and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional 

information about the EPA's public docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at 

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

Docket: All documents in the docket are listed in the www.regulations.gov index. Although 

listed in the index, some information is not publicly available, (e.g., CBI or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute). Certain other material, such as copyrighted material, 

will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publicly available docket materials are available 

either electronically at www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Enforcement and Compliance 

Docket Information Center in the EPA Docket Center (EPA/ DC), EPA West, Room B 3334, 

1301 Constitution Avenue, W. Washington, D.C. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading 

Room is open from 8:30a.m. to 4:30p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. 

The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566-1 744. and the telephone number for 

the Enforcement and Compliance Docket is (202) 566-1927. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Cavalier, Special Litigation and Projects 

Division (2248-A), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 

Washington, D.C. 20460; telephone: (202) 564-3271; fax : (202) 564-00 I 0; e-mail: 

Cavalier. Beth@epa. gov. 

Background 

This proposed settlement agreement is the result of voluntary disclosures of CW A and 

EPCRA violations by Com cast to the EPA. Comcast is among the largest providers of cable 

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services in the United States, offering a variety of entertainment, information, and 

communications solutions to residential and commercial customers, and is located at 170 I John 

F. Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19103, and incorporated in Delaware. The Comcast 

facilities that underwent audits included engineering facilities. customer service centers, field 

technician fulfillment offices, call centers, warehouses and administrative offices. 

On August 11 , 2014, the EPA and Respondent entered into a corporate audit agreement 

pursuant to the Agency's policy on incentives for Self-Policing: Discove1y, Disclosure, 

Correction and Prevention of Violations (Audit Policy), 65 FR 19,618 (Apr. II , 2000), in which 

Respondent agreed to conduct a systematic, documented, and objective review of its compliance 

with applicable provisions of the CW A and EPCRA. Respondent agreed to submit a final audit 

report detailing the specific facilities assessed, information setting forth violations discovered, 

and correcti ve actions taken. Respondent ultimately audited a total of286 facilities, and as 

agreed upon with the EPA. Respondent submitted a final audit report to the EPA on January 5, 

20 15. All violations discovered and disclosed by the Respondent are listed in Attachments A and 

B to the CAFO. 

Proposed Settlement 

The EPA determined that Respondent satisfactorily completed its audit and has met all 

conditions set forth in the Audit Policy. Comcast has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $28.782 for 

the violations identified in Attachments A and B. This figure is the calculated economic benefit 

of noncompliance based on information provided by Respondent and use ofthe Economic 

Benefit (BEN) computer model. Of this amount $22,393 is attributable to CW A violations, and 

$6,3 89 is attributable to EPCRA violations. 

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The EPA and Respondent negotiated the Consent Agreement in accordance with the 

Consolidated Rules of Practice, 40 CFR Part 22. specifically 40 CFR 22.13(b) and 22.18(b) (In 

re: Comcast Cable Communications, L.L.C.; enforcement settlement identifier numbers CWAHQ-20 15-800 I and EPCRA-HQ-20 15-800 l ). This Consent Agreement is subject to public 

notice and comment under Section 31 1(b)(6)(C) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1321 (b)(6)(C). The 

procedures by which the public may comment on a proposed CWA Class II penalty order, or 

participate in a Class ll penalty proceeding, are set forth in 40 CFR 22.45. The deadline for 

submitting public comment on this proposed Final Order is [insert date 30 days from date of 

publication in the Federal Register]. All comments will be transferred to the EAB for 

consideration. The EAB 's powers and duties are outlined in 40 CFR 22.4(a). 

Disclosed and Corrected Violations 

CWA 

Respondent disclosed that it failed to prepare and implement a Spill Prevention, Control. and 

Countermeasure (SPCC) Plan in violation of CW A Section 311 U), 33 U .S.C. 1321 U), and the 

implementing regulations found at 40 CFR Part 112, at I 0 facilities located in Alabama, 

Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee, identified in Attachment B. 

Under CWA Section 3 11 (b)(6)(A), 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6)(A), any owner, operator, or person 

in charge of a vessel, onshore facility, or offshore facility from which oil is discharged in 

violation of CWA Section 31 1 (b)(3), 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(3), or who fails or refuses to comply 

with any regulations that have been issued under CWA Section 3.11 U), 33 U.S.C. 1321 U), may 

be assessed an administrative civil penalty ofup to $177,500 by the EPA. Class II proceedings 

under CWA Section 3 11 (b)(6). 33 U.S.C. 132 1 (b)(6), are conducted in accordance with 40 CFR 

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Part 22. As authorized by CWA Section 3ll(b)(6). 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6), the EPA has assessed a 

civil penalty for these violations. 

Pursuant to CWA Section 31 1(b)(6)(C), 33 U.S.C. 132l(b)(6)(C), the EPA wi ll not issue an 

order in this proceeding prior to the close of the public comment period. 

EPCRA 

Respondent disclosed that it violated EPCRA Section 302(c), 42 U.S.C. ll002(c), and the 

implementing regul ations found at 40 CFR Part 355, at six facilities listed in Attachment A when 

it fai led to notify the State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and/or the Local 

Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) that these facilities are subject to the requirements of 

Section 302(c) ofEPCRA. These facilities are located in Alabama, South Carolina, and 

Tennessee. 

Respondent disclosed that it violated EPCRA Section 3 I I (a), 42 U.S.C. 1102 I (a), and the 

implementing regulations found at 40 CFR Part 370. at 22 facilities listed in Attachment A when 

it failed to submit a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for hazardous chemicals and/or 

extremely hazardous substances or, in the alternative, a list of such chemicals, to the LEPCs, 

SERCs, and the fire departments with jurisdiction over these facilities. These facilities are 

located in Alabama, California, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Tennessee. 

Respondent disclosed that it violated EPCRA Section 312(a), 42 U.S.C. 11 022(a), and the . 

implementing regulations found at 40 CFR Part 370, at 26 faci lities listed in Attachment A when 

it failed to prepare and submit emergency and chemical inventory forms to the LEPCs, SERCs. 

and the fire departments with jurisdiction over these facilities. These facil ities are located in 

Alabama, California, Georgia. South Carolina, Mississippi, and Tennessee. 

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Under EPCRA Section 325, 42 U.S.C. I I 045, the Administrator may issue an administrative 

order assessing a civil penalty against any person who has violated applicable emergency 

planning or right-to-know requirements, or any other requirement of EPCRA. Proceedings under 

EPCRA Section 325, 42 U.S.C. II 045, are conducted in accordance with 40 CFR Part 22. The 

EPA, as authorized by EPCRA Section 325, 42 U.S.C. I I 045, has assessed a civil penalty for 

these violations. 

List of Subjects 

Environmental Protection 

Dated ~~ v//( - -,f--;f----

Andrew R. Stewart. Acting Director 

Special Litigation and Projects Division 

Office ofCivil Enforcement 

Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 

BILLING CODE *** 

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