On February 25, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is taking legal action to get Hanover Foods Corporation to address numerous alleged violations at the company’s wastewater treatment facility in Hanover, York County that included excessive levels of contaminants as well as floating solids and visible scum in the discharged water and receiving water.

“The number of alleged violations observed during inspections is appalling,” said EPA Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator Adam Ortiz. “The company needs to identify why this occurred and present a plan to fix this so that the local waters that eventually feed into the Chesapeake Bay are protected.”

Under a consent order with EPA, Hanover Foods will conduct a study to determine the cause and how to correct these alleged water pollution violations that were identified during inspections by EPA and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

EPA alleges the company has failed to comply with a state-issued National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit to operate its own wastewater treatment facility at 1486 York Street to treat industrial waste before wastewater is discharged to Oil Creek, a tributary of Codorus Creek that feeds into the Susquehanna River in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Environmental inspections identified numerous alleged violations at the facility including:

-- Discharges of water exceeding permit effluent discharge limitations

-- Floating solids and visible scum in wastewater and receiving water

-- Violations of the permit’s operation and maintenance conditions

In an Administrative Order on Consent, the company has agreed to provide EPA with a complete engineering evaluation and propose and implement a corrective action plan and maintenance plan to correct the alleged violations.

This work is a first step in addressing the company’s discharge of pollutants into the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

EPA is working with Pennsylvania DEP during the development of this action.

[Posted: February 25, 2022]

2/28/2022