$20,000 Penalty for Burning Tires and Hazardous Waste

The Bullet:

At the request of Freeborn County the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) investigated properties where several tire fires had occurred in the recent past. The investigation revealed a generator of hazardous waste improperly disposing of both hazardous and non-hazardous waste through illegal storage, disposal, and open burning.

Who:

Charles D. Borneman, corporate officer for Albert Lea Trailer Inc. in Freeborn County, Minnesota.

Make certain you are in compliance with the regulations of the MPCA.

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).

What:

Albert Lea Trailer Inc. has paid a $20,000 penalty and agreed to comply with state rules that prevent noxious smoke from burning materials such as rubber and a variety of other state regulations that mandate the cradle-to-grave management of hazardous waste.

Where:

Freeborn County, Minnesota.

When:

The multiple fires that sparked the investigation took place in March 2012.

The MPCA Press Release is dated May 8, 2014.

Why:

The open burning of waste by a business (homeowners have a few exceptions) is banned by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) passed as law in 1976. Read more about the history of RCRA. It is also against Minnesota law and just a real bad idea since it releases harmful pollutants (like dioxins) into the air.

Research by the federal Environmental Protection Agency shows that burn barrels are the top source of dioxin in the United States.

How:

As a state with an authorized hazardous waste management program under RCRA, the MPCA has the authority to investigate, enforce, and assess penalties for violations of state environmental regulations.

Conclusion:

Whether you generate a little waste or a lot. Whether the waste is hazardous, non-hazardous, used oil, or universal waste, you must comply with the regulations of the USEPA or your state for its management at your site, its off-site transportation, and its final disposal. One requirement of those cradle-to-grave regulations is training for all Facility Personnel who come in contact with hazardous waste. Contact me for this training or for any questions you have about the management of hazardous waste.

Daniels Training Services

815.821.1550

Info@DanielsTraining.com

https://www.danielstraining.com/

Read the full MPCA press release

EP Fines Ohio Company $12,000 for Illegal Open Burning in Lycoming County

Company Ignored Agency Warning and Repeated Violation

WILLIAMSPORT — The Department of Environmental Protection today announced that it has fined Welded Construction LP of Perrysburg, Ohio, $12,000 for illegally burning wood mats on two occasions in August at its facility in Wolf Township, Lycoming County.

“We told company officials that the open burning of wood waste is a violation of Pennsylvania’s Solid Waste Management Act during our first complaint investigation,” DEP North-central Regional Director Marcus Kohl said. “Yet just eight days later, DEP inspectors caught the company doing the exact same thing.”

Kohl added that it is the responsibility of out-of-state companies to become familiar with Pennsylvania’s environmental laws and regulations to avoid enforcement action, including fines, which may be taken by the department when violations are documented.

“These mats should have been beneficially reused, or taken to a permitted landfill for proper disposal,” Kohl said.

A follow-up inspection conducted by the department in early September confirmed that all violations had been corrected.

The mats – made from hardwood timbers bound together by metal bolts and pins –are used to prevent destruction of land during the movement of heavy equipment in areas of soft ground, wetlands or streams.

You may think that open burning would be a violation of a state’s air regulations, and not its solid waste regulations, as is indicated here. In fact, the open burning of waste, both hazardous and non-hazardous, was one of the original goals of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) passed in 1976, codified as Federal regulations of the USEPA beginning in 1980, and adopted or incorporated into state regulations by most states (all but Iowa, Alaska, and Puerto Rico) throughout the 1980s. Read more about it here: The History of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Contact me to schedule training that will ensure compliance with the regulations of the USEPA and your state.

For more information, visit www.dep.state.pa.us or call 570-327-3653.