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EPA AND MAINE RAILROAD SETTLE CLAIMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL LAW VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 04/05/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - The Maine Central Railroad Company in Waterville, Maine, has agreed to pay a $47,300 civil penalty to settle claims by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the company violated oil spill prevention and oil discharge laws in 1998.

This week's settlement resolves a claim that resulted from an oil spill in February 1998. The EPA investigation stemmed from a call Maine Central Railroad made to state authorities and EPA's National Response Center.

EPA alleged that on Feb. 25, 1998, between 322 and 700 gallons of oil leaked from a locomotive to a catch basin system and then into one of the facility's storm water discharge pipes, which leads to the Kennebec River. The oil was not completely removed from the river until two days later, according to the complaint.

Two on-scene coordinators responded to the scene on Feb. 26, 1998, to investigate and monitor clean-up activities. During that visit, the coordinators also requested a copy of the facility's Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan, which is required under the Clean Water Act. This plan would outline procedures and methods a facility should use to prevent discharges, including construction of appropriate containment structures and training of employees in spill prevention.

No plan was available for review at the time of the inspection. EPA received a copy of a final SPCC plan dated March 24, 1998 on March 25, 1998.

"Maine Central Railroad made two big mistakes here," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator of EPA New England. "First, it had no plan to prevent or deal with oil spills; second, it discharged hundreds of gallons of oil into the Kennebec. It's unfortunate a spill had to occur for the company to follow the law, but we hope this will serve as a warning to other companies that store and transport oil."