The Department of Environmental Protection Thursday announced it collected a $220,000 penalty from Summit Labs in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, for violations related to testing drinking water samples and failure to notify DEP and public water suppliers in cases of Maximum Contaminate Level exceedances, among others.

“We rely on accredited, third-party labs for testing to ensure the safety and validity of drinking water treatment, and those labs must meet our standards and provide the proper notification,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell.

Among the violations Summit Labs was cited for include:

-- Failure to properly notify public water supplier and the Department of an MCL exceedance

-- Failure to control laboratory conditions, to identify and correct contamination

-- Failure to generate accurate and valid data

-- Failure of the laboratory supervisor to properly certify results

-- Failure to have proper staffing, management structure, quality assurance/quality control to ensure Summit generated accurate, valid data

DEP reached a settlement agreement with Summit Labs to address these violations, in which Summit Labs agreed to pay $220,000 in penalties.

“None of these violations are known to have affected public health, however that does not excuse the actions of Summit Labs,” said McDonnell. “Ensuring that accurate and timely information is made available to DEP and public water systems from labs like this is a crucial part of providing clean, safe drinking water to the people of Pennsylvania.”

For more information on the lab program, visit DEP’s Laboratory Accreditation Program webpage.

[Posted: Oct. 12, 2017]

10/16/2017