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Corrections Agrees To Pay Nearly $500,000 In Penalties For Environmental Violations; Will Spend Over $2.2 Million For Additional Environmental Projects

Release Date: 11/25/1997
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(#97162) New York, NY -- The New Jersey State Department of Corrections has agreed to pay $476,196 in penalties for violations of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations governing polychlorinated biphenols (PCBs) and will spend an additional $2.2 million to conduct environmental assessments at its facilities and remove transformers containing PCBs.

Not only will the Department of Corrections come into compliance with PCB regulations, said Jeanne M. Fox, EPA Region 2 Administrator. They will go above and beyond compliance with the law and significantly reduce risks of PCB leaks, spills or fires at their facilities.

In May 1995, EPA inspected two different facilities in Yardville and Avenel owned and operated by the New Jersey State Department of Corrections in Yardville and Avenel, New Jersey. The inspections revealed a number of violations of PCB regulations, including failure to regularly inspect areas containing PCB transformers and to keep adequate annual and quarterly inspection records, unauthorized disposal of PCBs; improper storage of combustable materials near PCB transformers; and failure to mark PCB transformers and register them with the local fire
department. EPA issued a complaint to the Department of Corrections for these violations in July 1996. The settlement announced today will bring the Department into compliance with PCB regulations at both facilities.

In addition to complying with PCB regulations and paying a $479,196 penalty, the Department of Corrections will launch environmental assessments of transformers at its facilities across the state to ensure that no similar violations occur.