Oct 26, 2006 2 min read

By the Herald-Standard The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that Waynesburg College was one of eight companies that had penalties for violations waived because they voluntarily reported and corrected the problems.

The EPA waived a $74,524 fine after the college disclosed violations of five environmental statutes and fixed the problems.

Voluntary reporting and corrections saved the eight companies in the EPA’s mid-Atlantic region a total of about $1.2 million in fines, according to the EPA. The region encompasses Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware and the District of Columbia.

The penalties would have ranged from $1,000 to $764,000, the EPA said.

Waynesburg College failed to notify tenants about the presence of lead-based paint, did not follow proper procedures for managing hazardous waste and failed to follow necessary oil spill prevention requirements, the EPA said.

“The EPA wants to acknowledge companies that make a concerted effort to protect the environment,” said Donald S. Welsh, EPA mid-Atlantic administrator. “Promptly disclosing violations, correcting them and acting to prevent future problems is the responsible thing to do.”

In these eight cases, the companies discovered potential violations during environmental compliance audits and reported the violations, the EPA said.

Because the companies satisfied all the conditions of the EPA’s self-disclosure policy and the economic benefits they gained were insignificant, the EPA waived the potential penalties, the agency said.