### ENVIRO NMENTAL PRO TECTIO N AGENCY [

Docke t ID N umb er EP A-H Q-OECA

-2 01 5- 05 40] 

### C lean W at er Ac t C la ss II : P r o p ose d Admini s trati ve Se ttl e ment , Pen a lty Assess me n t a nd Opp o rtuni ty to Co mm e nt R ega rdin g Co mc as t Ca bl e C ommuni ca ti o n s, L. L.C. AGENC Y : Environmental Pro tect ion Agency (EPA). 

### ACT IO N: Notice.



### SUMMAR Y : The EPA has e ntered into a Consent Agreement with Co mca st Cable Communications , L.L.C. (Comcast or Re spo ndent) to r eso lve violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Eme rgenc y Planning and Communit y Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) and their imple menting r eg ulations. The Administrator is hereby providing public notic e of this Consent Agreement and proposed Final Order (CAFO), and providing an oppo rtunity for interested persons to comment on the · CWA and EPCRA port ions of the CAFO , pursuant to CWA Section 3 11 (b)(6)(C) , 33 U.S.C. 1321 (b)(6)(C). U pon closure of the public commen t 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 fh e 

### Fed e r a l Re g is ter]. ADDRESS ES : Submit your comments
. identified by Docket lD No. EPA -HQ-O E CA-201 5- 0540 , by one of th e followin g methods:

• www.regulations.gov: Follow the online in struc ti ons for submitti ng comments.
• Email: docket.oeca @ epa.gov, Attention Docke t 10 

### No. EPA-HQ-OECA-2015-0540.
• Fax: (202) 566

- 9744. Atte ntion Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-O ECA -20 15-0540.• Mail: Enforcement and Compliance Docket In formation 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 (EP A/DC), EPA West, Room B 3334, 130 1 Constit11tion Ave nue , NW, Washington. D.C. The EPA D ocket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30a.m. to 4:30p
. m. , Monday through Friday, excluding legal ho lidays. Th e teleph one 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 wi ll be included in the public docket without change and may be made available o nline at www.regulations.gov, including any personal inf o rmation provided , unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential Business Information (C BI) o r other information whose disc losure is restricted by statute
. Do not s ubmit information that you consider to be CB l or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov. The www.regulations.gov website is an ·'ano n ymous 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, yo ur e-ma il address will be automatically captured and inc luded as part of the comment that is p laced in the public docket and made avai lable on the Internet. If you submit
a n e lectronic comment , the E PA recommends that yo u inc lu de your name and othe r contact

2information in the body of your commen t and wi th any disk or CD

- ROM you submit. If the EPA cannot read your com ment due to technical difficulties and canno t contact yo u for clar ific ation. the EP A may not be able to co n s ider you r co mm e nt. Electronic files should avoid the u se of special ch aracters, any form of e ncrypti on. and be free of any defects or viruses. For additional informatio n about the E PA 's pub li c docke t , visit th e E PA Docket Cente r homepage at http: // www.epa.gov/ epahome/dockets.htm. 

### Docket: A ll document s in the docket are li ste d in th e www.regulations.gov index. A lthou g h listed in the index, some information is not publicly availab le, (e
. g . , CB I o r other information
w hose disclosure is res tricted by s tatute). Certain o th er mate ri a l, s uch as copyri ghted material , will be publicly available only in hard copy. Publi c ly avai la ble docket materials are ava il ab l e
e ithe r e l ectro nicall y at www .r egula ti o n s . gov or in hard copy a t the Enforcement and Comp li ance Docket Inf or mati on Ce nter in the E PA D oc k et Cen t e r (EPA / DC), E PA West, Roo m B 3334, 1301 Const ituti o n Avenue, W. Wash in gton, D.C. The EPA D ocket Center Pub lic Reading Room i s o pe n from 8:30a.m. t o 4:30p.m., Monday throu gh Friday, exc luding lega l holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566 -1 744. and th e telephone number for th e Enforcement and Co mplianc e Docket is (202) 566- 1927. FO R FURTHER IN FORMATION CONTACT: Beth Cavalier, Special Li tigati on and Pr ojects Division (2248 -A), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
. 1200 Penn sy lv ania Avenue , NW, Washington, D.C. 20460; te lepho ne : (202) 564-3271; fax : (202) 564-00 I 0; e -mail : Cavalier. Beth@epa. gov . 

### Background Thi s proposed settlement agreement is th e result of voluntary disclosures of CW A and E PCRA vio lat ions by Co m cast to the EP A. Comcast is among the largest providers of cable

3services in the United States , offering a variety of entertainment, information , and
communic ations so lutions to residential and commercial customers, and is located at 170 I John F. Kennedy Boul evard, Phil ade lphia , PA 19103 , and incorporated in D elaware. The Comcast facilities that underwent audit s included engineering facilities. customer serv ice centers, field technicia n fulfillment offices , call centers, warehouses and administrative offices. On August 11 , 2014 , the EPA and Re spo ndent entere d into a corporate audit agreement pursuant t o the Agency 's poli cy on 

### in cen ti vesfor Self-Policing: Discove1y, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violation s (A udit Policy) , 65 FR 19 , 618 (Ap r. II , 2000), in which Responde nt agreed to conduct a systema ti c , documented , and objective review of it s compliance with applicable provisions of the CWA and EPCRA. Respondent agreed to submit a final audit report detailing the s pecific fac ili ties assessed , info rm ation setting forth vio lations discovered , and correc ti ve actions taken. Respondent ultimately a udited a total of286 facilities , and as agreed upon w ith the EP A
. Re spo ndent sub mitted a final audit report to the EPA on Januar y 5 , 20 15
. All vio lation s discovered and disclosed b y the Respondent are li sted in Attachment s A and B to the CAFO. 

### Proposed Settl ement The EPA determined that Respondent sat isfactorily completed its audit and has met all conditions set forth in the Aud it Policy. Comcast ha s ag r eed 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 Responde nt and u se ofthe Eco nomic Benefit (BEN) computer model. Of this amount $22 , 393 is attributabl e to CW A vio lat ion s , a nd $6,3 89 i s attrib utabl e to EPCRA v iolati o n s.

4The EPA and R esponde nt negotiated the Consent Ag reement in accordance with the Conso li dated Rules of Practice, 40 CFR Part 22. spec ifi cally 40 CFR 22.13(b) and 22.18(b) 

### (In
re: Comcast Cable Communications, 

### L.L.C.; e nf orcement settlement identifier numbers CWA

HQ-20 15-800 I an d EPCRA -HQ-20 1 5-800 l ). T his Co n sent Agreement is s ubject 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 pena lty o rder , or participate in a C lass ll penalty p roceeding, are set forth in 40 CFR 22.45
. The de ad line fo r submitti ng public comment on this proposed Final Order is 

### [insert date 30 days from date of publication in the Federal Regi s ter]. A ll co mments will be transferred to the E AB for
co n s id eration. The EAB 's pow ers and duties are outli ned in 40 CF R 22.4(a)
. 

### Di s clo sed an d C orrected Violations CWA Respo nd e nt disc losed tha t it fa il ed to prepar e and implement a Sp ill Pr evention , Control. and Coun termeasure (S P CC) Plan in v iolati o n of CW A Section 3 11 

### U), 33 U
. S.C. 13 21 

### U), and the implementing regulations found at 40 CFR P art 112 , at I 0 facilities located in A labama , Arkansas, Geo rg ia , South Caro lin a , and Tennessee, identifi e d in Attachment B
. Under CWA Section 3 11 (b)(6)(A) , 33 U.S.C. 1321(b)(6)(A) , a ny owner, operator, or person in charge of a vessel , onshore fac ility , or offshore facility f rom whic h oil is discharged in violation of CWA Section 31 1 (b)(3), 33 U.S.C. 1321(b )(3) , or who fails o r re fuses t o comp ly with any regul at ion s that hav e been i ssued under CWA Section 3
. 11 

### U), 33 U.S.C. 1321 

### U), may be assessed an adm ini strative civil penalty ofup to $177 , 500 by the E P A. C lass II p roceed ings under C WA Sec tion 3 11 (b)(6). 33 U
. S.C. 132 1 (b)(6), are conducted in accordance w ith 40 CFR

5

### Part 22. As authorized by CWA Sect ion 3ll(b)(6). 33 U.S
. C. 1321(b)(6) , the EPA has assessed a civi l 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. E PCRA 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 s ix fac ili t ies li s t ed in Attachme nt A when it fai led to notify the S tate Emergency Response Commission (SERC) and/or the Local Eme rgency Plannin g Committee (LEP C) that these f acil itie s a re subject to the requirements of Section 302(c) ofEPCRA. These facilities are located in Alabama, South Carolina , and Tennessee. Re spo ndent disclosed that it v i olated EP CRA Sect ion 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 fai led to su bmit a Material Safety Data S heet (MSDS) for hazardous c hem icals and / or extremely hazardous substances or , in the alternative , a list of such chem icals, to the LEPCs , SERCs, and the fire departments with jurisd iction ove r these fac ili ties. These facilities are located in Alabama, California , Georgia , South Caro lina , Mississippi , and Tennessee. Respondent disclosed th at it violated EPCRA Section 3 12(a), 42 U.S.C. 11 022(a), and the
. implementing regulations found at 40 CFR Part 370 , at 26 faci liti es li sted in Attachment A when it failed to prepare and submit emergency and chemical inventory forms to the LEPCs , SERCs. and the fire departments with ju risdiction ove r these facilities. These facil ities are located in Alabama , California , Georgia. South Carolina, Mississippi , and Tennessee.

6

### Under EPCRA Section 325 , 42 U.S.C. I I 045, the Adm inistrator may issue an administrative order assessing a civil penalty against any person who has violated app li cab l e emergency plann ing or right-to-know requirements , o r 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 au th o rize d by EP CRA Sectio n 325 , 42 U
. S
. C
. I I 045, has assessed a civ il penalty for these violations. 

### Li s t of Subject s Environmental Protection



### Dated



# ~~ v/ / (

- - , f-- ;

f----

Andrew R. Stewart. Acting Director Special Litigation and Projects Division Office ofC ivil Enforcement Offi ce of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
BILLI N G CODE ***

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