Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. responded Friday to the proposed penalties of $367,500 and related commentary issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against Reliance's Earle M. Jorgensen Company (EMJ) subsidiary.
The proposed penalties relate to EMJ's participation in the ongoing environmental cleanup of sediments in a portion of the Lower Duwamish Waterway which EPA has listed as a Superfund site (the LDW Site) on the National Priorities List under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). EMJ, which was acquired by Reliance in 2006, is one of more than 100 parties identified by EPA as potentially responsible for remediating sediments in the LDW Site. Despite having sold its facility within the LDW Site to a third party in 1992, EMJ has been working cooperatively with EPA, the State of Washington and other stakeholders for over 13 years to address contamination at the LDW Site.
Commenting on the proposed penalties and related commentary, Gregg J. Mollins, Reliance's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "It is always Reliance's intention to comply with the law. Furthermore, EMJ's proactive cleanup efforts at the LDW Site for over a decade demonstrate our commitment to protecting the environment. EMJ has been working in collaboration with EPA to implement the agreed cleanup plan, and we strongly disagree with the assertion that EMJ has been anything but extremely cooperative, responsive and diligent. Despite this dispute, EMJ intends to continue working cooperatively with EPA and all stakeholders to get this job done."