Henkel fined for discharges into Black Creek
PHOTO COURTESY / FIRE AND FILM - Suds overtake a roadway and village adjoining the Black Creek in Luzerne County in January, 2018.
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FERN GLEN, Luzerne County – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced a nearly $20,000 fine for a soap manufacturer after five discharges into the Black Creek from its West Hazleton plant, which turned the creek and surrounding area into a foamy mess last year.
Henkel US Operations Corp., which has a plant in the Valmont Industrial Park, will have to pay $19,410 for the discharges, reporting violations, and failure to comply with monitoring and sampling requirements.
“The department expects companies to comply with statutes and permits that protect our waterways from unlawful discharges; however, in this case, the company did not do that,” said Mike Bedrin, director of DEP’s Northeast Regional Office. “Companies have a responsibility to protect the waterways into which they are permitted to discharge.”
In January 2017, DEP officials responded to a complaint of foam in the creek and traced it to a pair of storm drains on Henkel’s property, which the company promptly cleaned. Henkel also inspected two containment sumps and sealed attached piping.
A year later, though, in January 2018, a drive through Fern Glen and Rock Glen along the creek would paint an unusual picture, as large clumps of foam flew from the creek. The source of that incident was traced to an area just below the company’s stormwater outflow, and a wastewater pipe from Henkel to the nearby sewage treatment plant was found to be damaged. The broken pipe, DEP says, allowed wastewater to seep into the ground, resulting in unpermitted discharges.
In addition to the discharges, Henkel failed to notify DEP in writing of the discharges within five days of the event, as required by its operating permit. It also failed to comply with monitoring and sampling requirements as part of its National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit.
DEP then determined the discharges and failure to comply with reporting, monitoring, and sampling requirements violated their NPDES permit and the state’s Clean Streams Law.
DEP officials monitored the creek after the incident, and did not identify any indications of long-term impacts.
In addition to the fine, Henkel has installed a new wastewater line to replace the damaged line.
The nearly $20,000 fine will go to the state’s Clean Water Fund, which funds programs promoting water quality across the state.
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