Hamilton Sundstrand fined for dumping chromium into Farmington River in New Hartford
February 10, 2007, New Hartford, CT
New Hartford - According to Associated Content, Hamilton Sundstrand,
an aerospace systems manufacturer in Connecticut has agreed to pay more than $12 million in fines for two counts of violating the Clean Water Act. The company, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, discharged both chromium and copper into the Farmington River beyond the amount permitted by the EPA. The Farmington River supplies water to over one million residents in Connecticut and Massachusetts.
Hamilton Sundstrand admitted to discharging toxic releases in excess of what the company is permitted to release after treatment in the on-site wastewater treatment facility. Even more troubling is that the company frequently omitted or altered the amount of release in reports submitted to both the state of Connecticut and the Federal Government's regulatory oversight, provided by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Hamilton Sundstrand also revealed that the company released a chelated copper solution into the wastewater treatment system, which overflowed and then released the contaminated water directly into the Farmington River over the Labor Day weekend in 2003. The company did not notify the proper authorities and when a water analysis was completed, the level of copper exceeded the permitted limit by more than seven times the safe amount. The company confirmed that the amount of discharge was in the tens of thousands of gallons, according to the Environmental News Service.
Hamilton Sundstrand is to pay one million dollars in direct fines for the toxic releases, and will also have to comply with other costs imposed by the EPA. Three million dollars will be directed to the state of Connecticut's Supplemental Environmental Programs (SEP) to increase funding for ecosystem management and Farmington River Basin restoration. That money will also help develop an electronic information system to monitor data for compliance with both the Clean Water and Air Acts.
The company will also be expected to install new systems to eliminate all wastewater discharges into the Farmington River. The new systems are estimated to cost Hamilton Sundstrand over $5 million, and if the costs come out to be less than that, the savings will also be donated to the SEP. Furthermore, the company will be on probation for the next five years, and will be regularly monitored by both the EPA and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.
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