State fines Milford quarry's

parent for air quality violations NORRISTOWN - The owner and operator of three Bucks County quarries, which also operates a quarry in Milford, was ordered Tuesday to submit corrective action plans and pay $136,300 in civil penalties for air violations. Eureka, a subsidiary of James D. Morrissey Inc., operates eight rock quarries, eight asphalt plants, and one sand plant in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The cited quarries are at Chalfont, Rush Valley and Warrington in Bucks County. Eureka’s Pike County operation was not cited. In addition to the order and penalty assessment, the Department of Environmental Protection placed Eureka Stone Quarry Inc. on the compliance docket for its unwillingness to comply with environmental regulations. “Eureka left us no choice but to take this serious action, which will prevent the company from obtaining any air quality permits or approvals until they achieve full compliance,” DEP Southeast Regional Director Joseph A. Feola said. A man who identified himself only as a Eureka representative, said the company had “no comment” on the state’s action Wednesday. Following a June 2004 assessment and penalty to Eureka of more than $41,000 for off-site dust violations at its Rush Valley and Chalfont quarries, the state documented numerous dust and record-keeping violations at all three quarry locations. These ongoing violations have resulted in a total of 11 violation notices sent to Eureka since October 2004. State officials said that while the company added water sprays to their dust suppression systems when first advised of the violations, this did not achieve or meet compliance. Since that time, Eureka has ignored requests for additional corrective measures to address the ongoing dust problems. Rush Valley Quarry, 911 Swamp Rd. in Wrightstown, operates a stone-crushing plant and three asphalt plants. Chalfont Quarry, at the intersection of Lower State and Pickertown roads in Warrington, operates a stone-crushing plant along with one-batch asphalt plant. Warrington Quarry, at Route 611 and Bristol Pike in Warrington, operates a stone-crushing plant. All three facilities are owned by Eureka Stone Quarry Inc. of Chalfont and hold DEP air quality operating permits in addition to their mining permits. In addition to paying the $136,300 penalty within 15 days, terms of the order issued today require Eureka to submit a corrective action plan by Feb. 1 outlining how it will bring the three quarries into full compliance. The company also must submit an operation and maintenance plan by March 1 outlining how compliance at these facilities will be maintained. For more information on air quality issues, visit the Department of Environmental Protection web site at www.depweb.state.pa.us, Keyword: “Air Quality.”