Environmental Policing Nets Gains for Virginia

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded enforcement cases in fiscal year 2007 that will produce more than $141 million in pollution controls and environmental projects protecting air, water, and land in Virginia.


“Communities in Virginia will benefit from substantial cuts in pollution and from improvements in the way pollution is managed by these companies and industrial facilities that are now complying with the law,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA’s mid-Atlantic regional administrator. “The millions of dollars these companies will have to spend as a result of our environmental policing will also produce health benefits for the public.”

EPA’s calculation of environmental benefits from its cases in Virginia includes reductions of 58.6 million pounds of chemicals released into the environment. Benefits also include removing contamination in waterways and cleaning up contaminated soil at hazardous waste properties across the state.

EPA’s mid-Atlantic enforcement program inspected and took action for violations associated with eight different environmental statutes. The cases ranged from environmental reporting violations to mismanagement of hazardous waste to illegal discharges of pollutants. For numerous violations, EPA assessed penalties and negotiated agreements with specific violators to spend about $360,000 on environmental projects helping communities.