LENEXA, Kan. — Coastal Energy Corporation agreed to settle allegations with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that it violated the Clean Water Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA), according to a press release.
The settlement is valued at $200,000, stated the release. The company will pay $25,000 in cash and implement more than $175,000 in environmental projects.
Coastal Energy operates a facility that stores liquid asphalt, ethanol and diesel fuel at a facility adjacent to the Eleven Point River, noted the release. During a 2014 inspection, the EPA found that the company lacked an adequate spill prevention, control and countermeasure plan that would help prevent and respond to accidental releases.
"The proposed settlement today represents a significant step forward in ensuring Coastal Energy Corporation is taking the necessary actions toward protecting the Eleven Point River, and the communities it serves,” said EPA Region 7 Acting Regional Administrator Mark Hague in the release.
Coastal Energy also failed to properly notify authorities about the propane stores on-site as required by EPCRA, reported the release. It has since submitted the required paperwork, revised its spill prevention plan, improved its secondary containment, and developed and implemented a facility response plan.
Under the settlement, the company will also install technology to monitor asphalt and ethanol tanks 24 hours per day for a cost of more than $100,000, shared the release. It will also spend at least $73,200 to support local emergency responders with firefighter protective clothing, air packs, emergency oxygen and containment boom for Willow Springs Fire Department.
Click here to read the entire release.
