Construction materials company to pay over $24,000 for stormwater permit violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on June 27, 2024, that Carlisle Construction Materials, LLC paid a $24,780 penalty for Clean Water Act violations that occurred at its former facility in McMinnville, Oregon.

In December 2021, an EPA inspector found several violations of the company’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit,

Violations include the failure to document an undisclosed stormwater discharge source in their Stormwater Pollution Control Plan, failure to monitor, sample and visually inspect undisclosed stormwater discharge source, and failure to reduce exposure of crumb rubber pile against stormwater.

Due to excessive levels of dissolved oxygen, phosphorous, iron and for high temperatures, the South Yamhill River is considered an impaired waterbody by the EPA and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

The river is not meeting its Clean Water Act beneficial uses for fish and other aquatic life.

The Clean Water Act prohibits discharging pollutants from industrial sources into a water of the United States without an NPDES permit. Stormwater can pick up pollutants like chemicals, oils, and sediment from industrial facilities which are then carried into waterways and harm fish and other aquatic life.

The NPDES permit requires industrial sites to monitor, measure and reduce stormwater pollution leaving their facilities.