Acuity Specialty Products Group Inc.

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eceiving a representative sample of flow that the POTW would use to charge and assessa surcharge to Acuity under the Industrial Wastewater Discharge Pennit.J. ASP has accepted responsibility for the acts of its managers , supe:rtisors, andemployees and has agreed to plead guilty to a one count charge of a knowing violation of theClean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 13l9(c)(2)(A), in the United States District Court for the NorthernDistrict of Georgia.K. This Agreement is expressly conditioned upon the prompt completion, signing, andexecution by ASP and approvaJ of the U.S. Government of Attachment A, the criminal PleaAgreement, and the continued implementation of these documents by ASP in accordance withtheir tenns. ASP agrees to pay a fine of Three Million Eight Hundred Thousand Dollars($3,800,000), and to a three year term of probation.L The criminal plea and surrounding misconduct of ASP described in paragraphs Hthrough J constitute cause for the statutory listing of ASP.M. Acuity, through its legal counsel, has met with representatives of EPA's Suspensionand Debarment Division ("SDD") and has advised EPA that the Respondents desire to resolvethe statutory listing action arising out of the above-mentioned facts. In support of its efforts toreso1ve this matter, Acuity has submitted documentation to SDD describing how it addressed thecondition which gave rise to the violation and its corporate compliance efforts.N. On January 16,2007, Joseph Camonaro and Marcella Black of EPA SDD toured theASP Seaboard Facility and were shown technical improvements implemented by ASP ascorrective actions.-4-
Conditions Giving Rise to the Offenses0. From in or about October 2001 until in or about November 2002, ASP knowinglyviolated requirements imposed in a pretreatment program approved under section1342(b)(8) of the Clean Water Act when its employees failed to report accurate sampling resultsfor flow, phosphorus and pH, and by knowingly causing the City of Atlanta to take sampleswh1ch were not representative of the facility's wastewater dunng its semi-annual monitoringevents, all in violation of Title 33, United States Code, Section 1319(c)(2)(A). This misconductoccurred despite the company's having in place an existing environmental program, traimngprogram, internal and external audits, and company code of conduct. All of which mdicates thatthe previous programs and policies, while perhaps sufficient on their face, lacked sufficientimplementation and enforcement and lacked sufficient mechanisms for corporate oversight andaccountability for managers, supervisors, operators , and employees to prevent these violations.Remedial MeasuresP. Acuity terminated Daniel Schaffer, the former Environmental Engineering Manager atthe Seaboard Facility. The former Vice President of Engineering retired in 2001. Otheremployees implicated in the misconduct are no longer employed by Acuity.Q. Promptly in response to the Circumstances, Acuity took steps to come into compliancewith the permit by shipping wastewater offsite while its consultant evaluated the wastewatertreatment plant. Acuity engaged its environmental consultant, Rindt-McDuff Associates, towork wtth the Seaboard staff to determine the cause of the high phosphorus levels and proposeremedial measures to return to compliance with the pennit. In addition, Acuity began-5-
Page 2 and 3: GUILTY PLEA and PLEA AGREEMENTr!:ed
Page 4 and 5: 1'1.up and the facts of this case,
Page 6 and 7: the prov1s10ns set out mthe Complia
Page 8 and 9: this Plea Agreement, the Government
Page 10 and 11: CERTIFICATION OF ATTORNEY AND DEFEN
Page 12 and 13: ATTACHMENT A
Page 14 and 15: company, ASP. ASP is a Delaware cor
Page 16 and 17: II10. The R.M. Clayton Reclamation
Page 18 and 19: IIless than 25,000 gallons of waste
Page 20 and 21: discharged to the R.M. Clayton Recl
Page 22 and 23: IIDateOctober 30, 200 1November 6,
Page 24 and 25: ATTACHMENT B
Page 26 and 27: purchased from other companies to m
Page 30 and 31: IHIconstruction on improvements to
Page 32 and 33: X. Acuity represents to EPA that AS
Page 39 and 40: allegations of Acuity's corporate i
Page 41 and 42: (v). Schedule.After submission of t
Page 43 and 44: (b) Vice President of Compliance/Du
Page 45 and 46: ....12. Training.(a) Environmental
Page 47 and 48: 5. that the training requirements d
Page 49 and 50: I IG6. Freedom of InformationRespon
Page 51 and 52: "during the term of this Agreement
Page 53 and 54: 1111submissions to SOD through thei
Page 55 and 56: ATTACHMENT C
Page 57 and 58: EXHIBIT ARESOLUTIONSOFTHE BOARD OF
Page 59 and 60: 2) WAIVER OF RIGHTS(a)The Governmen
Page 61 and 62: 4) LIMITATION OF CHARGESThe United
Page 63 and 64: 7) WAIVER OF APPEALIf the Court acc
Page 65 and 66: In Open Court thisday of June, 2007
Page 67: Ii iINFORMATION BELOW MUST BE TYPED

Acuity Specialty Products Group Inc.

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