News Releases from Region 03

Raven Power LLC settles hazardous chemical release reporting violations at Baltimore facility

PHILADELPHIA (April 16, 2020) – In a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Texas-based Raven Power LLC recently paid a $105,000 penalty for allegedly failing to timely report a 2017 release of a hazardous substance from the H.A. Wagner Generating Plant in Baltimore.

EPA cited the company for violating two federal laws requiring immediate reporting of releases of hazardous substances -- the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA); and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund.  EPCRA requires notification to the state and local emergency officials, and CERCLA requires notification to the National Response Center (NRC), the national point of contact for reporting oil and hazardous chemical spills. 

According to EPA, the company did not provide required immediate notices to federal, state and local emergency response officials immediately after facility personnel became aware at approximately 8 a.m., Sept. 11, 2017, of a release of approximately 1,126 pounds of sodium hypochlorite directly into the adjacent Patapsco River. 

EPA alleged that the company did not notify the NRC until 12:20 p.m., more than four hours after learning of the release, did not notify Maryland emergency officials until after 1 p.m., and failed to notify local officials at the Anne Arundel County Office of Emergency Management. EPA also cited the company for failing to provide required written follow-up notification to state and local officials.

For more information on EPA’s emergency management programs, visit https://19january2021snapshot.epa.gov/emergency-response.