BOSTON – PRM Concrete Corp., a Rhode Island concrete manufacturer, is charged with violating the Clean Water Act at its Pawtucket plant by discharging stormwater and process water to municipal catch basins and the Seekonk River without the required authorization and faces a penalty of up to $177,500, the Environmental Protection Agency’s New England office announced on Nov. 1.
The EPA said it discovered the violations while inspecting the 775 School St. plant in May 2007; PRM told the agency it had ceased the operations at the end of September. PRM also has plants in Cranston and North Smithfield.
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“Stormwater runoff from industry often carries sediment, debris and other pollutants into nearby waterways,” said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA’s New England office. “It is everyone’s responsibility to protecting our waters and it is up to industry to assess the adequacy of their own stormwater controls.”
Industrial operations, such as ready-mix concrete plants, obtain discharge permits and implement controls to prevent facilities from discharging pollutant into nearby waterways through stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff can contribute to degraded water quality that can harm or kill fish and other wildlife, as well as make the water unhealthy for swimming, fishing and drinking, the agency said.
The violations occurred from October 2005 through August 2008, the agency said noting more specifically that the manufacturer discharged stormwater associated with industrial activity without authorization from October 2005 until August 2008, discharged process water without authorization from October 2005 until May 2007 and failed to file for permit coverage for the stormwater discharges from its facility until August 2008.
