EPA Settlement With Galveston-Area Oil Facility

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and GCOWS Operating, LLC entered an expedited settlement on May 14, 2025 over alleged spill-prevention violations at the Maco Stewart facility in Texas City, Galveston County, according to an EPA Region 6 filing. The agreement followed a March 12, 2025 EPA inspection of the site at 2900 Galveston Road. EPA said the facility was subject to federal oil-pollution prevention rules under Section 311(j) of the Clean Water Act. The settlement set a civil penalty of $4,750 and recorded GCOWS' agreement to resolve the alleged violations. ### Which facility was covered by the settlement? The Maco Stewart facility in Texas City was identified in the EPA docket as the site inspected by federal regulators. The filing says GCOWS Operating, LLC owned or operated the facility and that the inspection was conducted to determine compliance with oil-pollution prevention rules in 40 C.F.R. Part 112. (yosemite.epa.gov) JD Supra and Mitchell Williams, both summarizing the EPA docket, said the facility's total oil storage capacity was 178,702 gallons. That figure put the site well above the threshold for facilities that must maintain a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure plan under EPA rules. ### What did EPA say inspectors found on March 12, 2025? EPA said its authorized representative inspected the site on March 12, 2025 and determined that GCOWS had violated regulations implementing Section 311(j) of the Clean Water Act. (yosemite.epa.gov) The agency's settlement document says the violations were described in an attached inspection findings and alleged violations form incorporated into the agreement. (jdsupra.com) The public docket excerpt available through EPA's filing page does not reproduce the attached violations form in the search preview, but the legal summaries say inspectors flagged the facility for failing to meet SPCC requirements. Those rules require covered facilities to develop, maintain and implement an SPCC plan intended to prevent oil discharges into navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. (yosemite.epa.gov) ### What does an SPCC settlement require a company to do? EPA's settlement says GCOWS admitted it was subject to the oil-pollution prevention regulations, waived objections to EPA's jurisdiction and consented to the penalty. The agreement also says the company certified that the violations had been corrected and that the facility was in full compliance, or that any remaining corrections would be completed within an alternative time frame agreed to by EPA in writing. (jdsupra.com) EPA says the SPCC rule requires the owner or operator of a covered facility to prepare and implement an SPCC plan and maintain that plan at the facility if it is normally attended at least four hours a day. The rule applies to facilities that store more than 1,320 gallons in aboveground containers of 55 gallons or greater, among other criteria, according to the agency. (yosemite.epa.gov) ### Why did EPA use an expedited settlement here? The EPA filing is titled an "Expedited Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Settlement Agreement," a form the agency uses to resolve certain alleged violations without a longer administrative case. The document says GCOWS waived its opportunity for a hearing or appeal and consented to EPA approval of the agreement. (epa.gov) The legal summaries tied the case to Docket No. CWA-06-2025-4312 and described it as SPCC enforcement under the Clean Water Act. EPA's civil enforcement page lists agency settlements and orders, though the underlying docket document provides the clearest account of the Maco Stewart matter. ### What comes next for GCOWS Operating? GCOWS must pay the $4,750 civil penalty under EPA's payment instructions and may not deduct that payment as a tax expense, the settlement says. (yosemite.epa.gov) The agreement also says any remaining corrective work must be completed on a schedule approved by EPA in writing if the violations were not already fixed when the company signed. (jdsupra.com) Docket No. CWA-06-2025-4312 is the public record to watch for any further EPA filings tied to the Maco Stewart facility. EPA's May 14, 2025 settlement document identifies Region 6 as the office handling the case. (yosemite.epa.gov)