Baltimore Company to Pay $35,000 Penalty for Polluting River

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a settlement with the Domino Sugar Corporation over Clean Water Act violations at the company's Baltimore sugar cane refinery. Under a May 18 administrative settlement, the company has agreed to pay a $35,000 penalty for allegedly violating provisions of its permit to discharge stormwater into the Patapsco River.

According to the August 1997 complaint filed by the Agency, the firm violated its state-issued Clean Water Act permit by allowing raw sugar to spill into the river from a loading dock. The allegation also charged that the company violated its authorization to discharge stormwater from an outfall, after water monitoring showed high values for biological oxygen demand (BOD), and elevated levels of total suspended solids (TSS), suggesting the presence of dissolved sugar in the water.

The EPA coordinated its enforcement efforts with the Maryland Department of Environment, which is preparing an administrative action against Domino for permit violations. To resolve the MDE's complaint, the company will spend nearly $500,000 on facility improvements designed to minimize the discharge of raw sugar into stormwater and surface water that collects on the site.

This action is good for the environment and for the many people who care about the Patapsco River, said EPA Region III Administrator W. Michael McCabe. He described the coordinated enforcement response of the EPA and the MDE as a model of federal-state cooperation in addressing environmental problems.