December 25, 2002—The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City of Philadelphia announced a settlement of alleged violations of environmental regulations documented June 2001 at the Philadelphia House of Corrections.
In a consent agreement with EPA, the City of Philadelphia agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty and to complete a special environmental project to settle an EPA complaint involving the 6,800-inmate prison complex.
In March 2002, EPA cited the prison for failing to prepare a plan to prevent and minimize oil spills from the prison’s heating oil storage tanks, which have a total capacity of 101,975 gallons. EPA also cited the prison for improper storage and labeling of hazardous wastes, including solvents and waste paint in the facility’s print shop.
As part of the settlement, the Philadelphia Prison System neither admitted nor denied liability for these violations, but certified that it is now in compliance with the cited regulations. The City also agreed to implement a $57,500 pilot project at the prison, preparing an environmental management system and employee training to ensure that the facility meets or exceeds all applicable federal, state, and local environmental regulations.
The settlement is part of EPA’s ongoing effort to ensure that prisons and jails in the mid-Atlantic region comply with all applicable environmental regulations. EPA has inspected federal and state prisons throughout the region, and taken appropriate enforcement actions when it has discovered environmental violations, such as at Delaware’s Smyrna Correctional Facility in 2002, and at DC’s Lorton Correctional Facility in Fairfax County, Virginia in 1999.
For more information about EPA’s efforts in this area, visit EPA/Mid-Atlantic Region.
