massdep

MassDEP Enforces the Massachusetts Landfill Ban With 98 Notices of Non-Compliance in the Past Year

Even those states without authorized hazardous waste programs under RCRA (Iowa, Alaska, & Puerto Rico) are responsible for the management of non-hazardous solid waste within their state.  While regulations for hazardous waste find their authority in Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, non-hazardous wastes are addressed in Subtitle D of RCRA.  It’s in Subtitle D that the USEPA delegates the management of non-hazardous waste to each state.  I have found that the states take a myriad of approaches to the management of non-hazardous waste and in this article we will read of how Massachusetts is enforcing its ban from landfill disposal for certain recyclable materials. (more…)

Saint-Gobain Plastics Assessed $1,730 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Management Violations, Must Provide iPads to Worcester Fire Dept.

Read the news release:  Saint-Gobain Plastics Assessed $1,730 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Management Violations, Must Provide iPads to Worcester Fire Dept.

BOSTON – Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation, which operates a coating facility at 717 Plantation Street in Worcester, has been assessed penalties totaling $6,900 by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) for violating Hazardous Waste regulations.

During a routine inspection conducted in the fall of 2012, MassDEP determined the company had accumulated hazardous waste for longer than the time allowed under its registered generator status. As part of a consent order with MassDEP, the company will pay a $1,730 penalty and perform a Supplemental Environmental Project in lieu of paying a larger penalty amount.

The project includes the purchase of four iPads and associated hardware and software that will be given to the Worcester Fire Department. The iPads will allow first-responders to access a chemical database web site while in the field, providing them with detailed chemical datasheets within seconds.

“The company, once notified of the violation, took steps quickly to return to compliance and proposed the Supplemental Environmental Project,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester.  “The iPads will be a great resource for the Worcester Fire Department and greatly assist in their response to certain emergency situations.”

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

It’s good that the company quickly returned to compliance.  It would be even better if it had not had the violations in the first place.  Contact me for a free RCRA training consultation or with any questions you may have about the management of hazardous waste.

Radant Technologies of Stow Penalized $6,400 for Violating Hazardous Waste Requirements

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $6,440 penalty against Radant Technologies, Inc. of Stow for violations of state Hazardous Waste regulations. The company manufactures composite radomes and reflectors at its 255 Hudson Road facility.

During a routine inspection conducted in March, MassDEP personnel found the company had accumulated hazardous waste for longer than is allowed by its registered status, failed to maintain a hazardous waste inspection log and failed to properly label its hazardous waste containers. In a consent order with MassDEP, the company is required to maintain compliance with applicable regulations and pay the penalty.

“Hazardous Waste regulations require proper management and disposal of wastes within specific time frames, which are dependent on the amount of waste generated,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “Once made aware of the violations, the company took immediate corrective actions.”

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

For the full news release from MassDEP:  Radant Technologies of Stow Penalized $6,400 for Violating Hazardous Waste Requirements

As noted in the above news release, the on-site accumulation time limit for hazardous waste is determined by a facility’s hazardous waste generator status:  no more than 90 days for a large quantity generator or hazardous waste and no more than 180 days for a small quantity generator of hazardous waste.  There is no time limit for the on-site accumulation of hazardous waste in the following situations:

  • A conditionally exempt small quantity generator of hazardous waste.
  • A used oil.
  • A non-hazardous waste.
  • A universal waste (limited to one year).
  • A waste that is excluded from definition as a hazardous waste due to a regulatory exclusion or recycling.

A large or small quantity generator of hazardous waste that exceeds the on-site accumulation time limit, even by just one day, can face severe penalties, as in this case.

In addition to an on-site accumulation time limit, and a host of other regulatory requirements, both a large and small quantity generator of hazardous waste must provide training for its facility personnel that handle hazardous waste or may respond to a hazardous waste emergency.  Contact me to provide the RCRA hazardous waste training that you need to comply with the regulations and to learn how to avoid penalties like this one.

Company to Pay More Than $93,000 Over Claims of Illegal Dumping of Construction Waste at Methuen Site

BOSTON — A waste hauling firm based in Essex will pay more than $93,000 to settle claims that it illegally dumped multiple loads of construction and demolition waste at an unpermitted site in Methuen, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced today.

According to the complaint, entered Wednesday along with the consent judgment in Suffolk Superior Court, Dynamic Waste Systems, Inc. violated the state’s solid waste disposal laws by dumping more than 115 loads of construction and demolition waste, including concrete, brick, and stone, at the site over a period of 70 days.

“We will vigorously pursue those who fail to follow the Commonwealth’s solid waste laws and regulatory requirements,” AG Coakley said. “This settlement sends a strong message that haulers who improperly dispose of waste will be forced to clean up illegal dumping grounds.”

According to the complaint, Thomas Battye, the owner of the Methuen site, never applied for or received an assignment to operate a solid waste facility from the Methuen Board of Health or a solid waste management facility permit from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP).

“Illegal dumping of solid waste undermines the protection of the Commonwealth’s natural resources, and it won’t be tolerated,” said MassDEP Commissioner Kenneth Kimmell. “Disposal of materials must be done at properly approved or permitted facilities without exception.”

The consent judgment requires that Dynamic Waste Systems pay a total of $90,000 into a special fund established by the Commonwealth to help with the cost of site evaluation and subsequent cleanup work at the Battye site. Under the judgment, Dynamic will also pay a $3,750 civil penalty.

Battye is the subject of a separate, pending action brought by the Commonwealth related to solid waste violations at the Methuen site. The AG’s Office is also pursuing claims against additional waste haulers and demolition contractors who dumped or contracted for solid waste disposal at the Battye site.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew Ireland of AG Coakley’s Environmental Protection Division handled the case, with assistance from MassDEP Environmental Analysts Mark Fairbrother, John MacAuley and Karen Goldensmith, and MassDEP attorneys Jeanne Argento and Colleen McConnell, all from MassDEP’s Northeast Regional Office.

Even though the waste in question was not a hazardous waste, the potential remains for significant fines if the state’s regulations are violated.  The regulations of both the USEPA and MassDEP identify a solid waste as any discarded material that is not excluded from regulation (eg. due to recycling).  Some solid waste may also be a hazardous waste if they are either identified as a listed hazardous waste and/or exhibit a characteristic of a hazardous waste (ignitability, corrosivity, reactivity, or toxicity).  If not listed nor characteristic, or an exclusion applies, then the waste remains a non-hazardous solid waste.

Conducting a hazardous waste determination for all of your solid waste is one of your primary responsibilities.  If only a solid waste, you must still comply with the regulations of your State and the USEPA under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions about the management of solid waste, hazardous waste, used oil, or universal waste in Massachusetts or anywhere in the US.

New England Laborers Training Academy Assessed $7,250 Penalty for Failure to Report and Cleanup Diesel Fuel Spill at Hopkinton Facility

BOSTON – The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) assessed a $7,250 penalty to the New England Laborers Training Academy (NELTA) to settle environmental violations resulting from a 1,000-gallon diesel fuel spill at its facility on East Street in Hopkinton.

On Sept. 21, 2011, the Hopkinton Fire Department notified MassDEP of a diesel fuel release that surfaced in a basement sump pump, causing fuel odors inside an Academy building. NELTA personnel conducted inventory reconciliation of the building’s fuel usage and estimated that 1,000 gallons of fuel was lost during an incident dating back to April 2011 that was never reported to MassDEP nor assessed and cleaned up. Failure to timely notify and immediately assess and abate the release of the heating oil resulted in contamination to soils, groundwater and odor impacts within the building five months later.

As part of a consent order, NELTA was assessed the $7,250 penalty and worked with MassDEP staff to revise its spill contingency and material management plans. As part of the agreement, NELTA was required to pay $3,750 of the assessed penalty to the Commonwealth. The organization also agreed to spend the remaining $3,500 penalty on a Supplemental Environmental Project that will help to purchase emergency equipment for the Hopkinton Fire Department.

“Immediate response actions and timely spill notification are critical to prevent greater environmental damage and cost,” said Lee Dillard Adams, director of MassDEP’s Central Regional Office in Worcester. “NELTA has improved its business practices to prevent a recurrence of this chain of events, which cost the Academy significantly more than it would have to address the spill appropriately in the first place.”

MassDEP is responsible for ensuring clean air and water, safe management and recycling of solid and hazardous wastes, timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and spills and the preservation of wetlands and coastal resources.

Another thing to consider with all of the above is the fact that many of the RCRA hazardous waste regulations pertaining to generator treatment and management of hazardous waste are suspended during the immediate response to a spill or release of a hazardous waste or what could be a hazardous waste.  That suspension ends, however, whenever it is deemed that the “immediate” response is complete.  Any spill residue that is not promptly cleaned up could be considered to be discarded by being abandoned pursuant to 40 CFR 261.2(b) and therefore subject to determination as a hazardous waste.  If either a listed or characteristic hazardous waste, it would be subject to full regulation under RCRA for on-site disposal.

Contact me to learn more about the RCRA hazardous waste regulations of the USEPA or your State.