KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Kansas City, Mo., company pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally transporting hazardous waste.

Z-Group, LLC, is a Kansas company registered to do business in Missouri. Company president Friedrich-Wilhelm Zschietzschmann represented the company in court today to plead guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to illegally transporting hazardous waste.

Zschietzschmann was also the president and CEO of Z-International, Inc., which specialized in the labeling industry.  Z-International used large quantities of ink and ink-related products in its business, making labels for numerous companies all over the world.  Z-International was located at 110 East 16th Street, Kansas City, Mo. Z-Group was established in 2001 by Zschietzschmann to serve as owner of real estate where Z-International operated its business.

Z-International was closed by Zschietzschmann in July 2010.  Any assets or fixtures remaining on the property after the business closed were sold or otherwise disposed of by a Z-International employee.

Between July 2010 and April 2012, the company authorized personnel to hire others to transport hazardous waste to a separate location. Z-International employees authorized the transportation of 23 containers of varying sizes that contained liquid hazardous waste to Studer Container Service, 520 Madison Ave., Kansas City, Mo. Studer did not have a permit to receive hazardous waste.

In April 2012, Environmental Protection Agency officials conducted a compliance inspection at Studer.  During the inspection, EPA inspectors found several containers of what appeared to be hazardous materials.

On June 28, 2012, EPA began its sampling and clean-up operation. On Dec. 21, 2012, the EPA National Enforcement Investigations Center provided analytical results for 38 samples collected from the containers dumped at Studer. Five of the samples tested positive for ignitability and two of the samples tested positive for toxicity.

The EPA Superfund Program cleaned up the hazardous waste at Studer to eliminate possible adverse effects on human health and environment. The total EPA Superfund cost was $36,871.

Under the terms of today’s plea agreement, Z-Group must pay a $50,000 fine and $36,871 in restitution, for a total payment of $86,871. The company is also subject to up to five years of probation. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jane Pansing Brown. It was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division.

Read the full release here.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the regulations based upon it (both USEPA and State) mandate “cradle-to-grave” responsibility for all hazardous waste.  The RCRA regulations, however, only apply to active hazardous waste sites.  The regulations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and its amendments, collectively known as “Superfund”, have the authority to clean up closed or abandoned sites that are contaminated with Hazardous Substances, which is the case here.  Either way, it is the generator of the hazardous waste that will be held responsible for the clean-up costs.

Contact me with questions about disposal options for your hazardous waste and to ensure you receive the best training that will help you to avoid situations such as this.

EPA to spend $3 Million to Address Heavy Metal Contamination

Contact Information: Brenda Reyes, 787-977-5869, reyes.brenda@epa.gov

(New York, NY – Nov. 5, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized its plan to address contaminated soil at the Scorpio Recycling Superfund site in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Previous metal recycling and battery crushing activities at the site resulted in contamination of the soil with lead and other metals. Lead is a toxic metal that can cause damage to a child’s ability to learn and a range of health problems in adults. Exposure to heavy metals can cause serious health effects. Under the plan, contaminated soil from the site will be consolidated in two controlled areas and covered to reduce potential exposure to the hazardous materials.

The EPA held a public meeting on August 14, 2013 in Toa Baja to explain its proposed plan. The EPA took public comment for 30 days and considered public input before finalizing the decision.

Scorpio Recycling, Inc. was a metals recycling company that operated from 1972 until 2010. The site was added to the Superfund list in 1999 after high concentrations of heavy metals and other contaminants were found in the soil.

Under the EPA plan, contaminated soil that poses a potential risk to people’s health will be moved and consolidated in two areas of the site, a conservation area and an industrial area. Clean soil will be placed over contaminated soil in the conservation area and a gravel cover will be placed over soil in the industrial area.

Long-term monitoring will ensure that the covers prevent direct contact with underlying waste. The plan also requires new deed restrictions that will prevent activities that could disturb the covers and prohibit any future on-site residential construction. The EPA will conduct a review every five years to ensure the effectiveness of the cleanup.

The Superfund program operates on the principle that polluters should pay for the cleanups, rather than passing the costs to taxpayers. After sites are placed on the Superfund list of the most contaminated waste sites, the EPA searches for parties responsible for the contamination and holds them accountable for the costs of investigations and cleanups. In this instance, the EPA did not identify a viable party to pay the cleanup costs. The EPA estimates the cost of this cleanup will be about $3 million, which will be provided by the EPA federal Superfund program.

To view the EPA’s record of decision for the Scorpio Recycling Superfund site, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region02/superfund/npl/scorpio/index.html

Be sure to read the first two sentences of the last paragraph of the news release.  Any person that generates a solid waste, which includes wastes that are ultimately recycled, is subject to liability under the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, or as it is better known:  Superfund).  The goal of the EPA for a property categorized as a Superfund Site is to identify any person or company that contributed to the contamination and have them pay for the clean-up.  Apparently, in this case, they were not able to identify any Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs).  But if they did, then those PRPs would be shelling out money to the EPA and remediation contractors (not to mention lawyers) to clean-up the site.

What can you do to protect yourself?

• Minimize the amount of waste you generate:  hazardous, non-hazardous, used oil, universal waste, recycled material, etc.
• Perform audits of all waste disposal and recycling facilities to ensure they are handling your waste properly.
• Hope you get lucky.  No matter what you do, if you generate any waste for recycling or disposal, you are subject to the possibility of being identified as a PRP.  It is one of the costs of doing business in the US.

Another precautionary measure:  provide Hazardous Waste Personnel Training for any employees who work with, around, or handle hazardous waste or may respond to a hazardous waste emergency.  Please contact me for your free training consultation.

News Release: Public Information and Availability Session
08/06/2013

What:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will present information and take questions from the community on the proposed remedy for the World Resources Company (WRC) facility, located at 170 Walnut Lane, Pottsville, Pa. 17901. The facility has conducted an investigation and sampling at the site in accordance with the requirements of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Corrective Action Program. Corrective Action is an EPA program designed to guide the investigation, and any cleanup of contaminated hazardous waste.

When:

August 12, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Where:

Norwegian Township Building, 506 Maple Avenue, Mar Lin, Pa. 17951-0251

Background:

WRC recycles metal bearing sludges that are generated primarily by metal finishing and electroplating industries. Some of these sludges are considered hazardous waste under EPA and Pennsylvania Law. Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments were conducted at the facility. Five monitoring wells were installed for soil and groundwater. Soil samples were collected. Environmental sampling showed no contaminants above either EPA or PADEP residential standards. WRC continues to do groundwater and soil monitoring approximately twice a year, and has since 1990. No known releases have occurred at the facility resulting in investigation or remedial actions.

Proposed Remedy:

EPA will propose this week that there are no known environmental issues at the property that have not been addressed. EPA’s investigation has found that there is no contamination at the site. The proposed Final Decision is for “no further action” and will be documented in a Statement of Basis and subject to public review and comment.

Public Comment:

Persons wishing to comment on the proposed remedy may do so by submitting their comments to EPA betweenAugust 14 and September 27, 2013. All comments must be submitted in writing via mail, fax, or email to EPA Project Manager Catheryn Blankenbiller, at U.S. EPA Region 3, 1650 Arch Street, Mailcode 3LC30, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 (Email: blankenbiller.catheryn@epa.gov; Fax: 215-814-3113.  All comments will be considered in making a final decision.

Contact: Donna Heron at 215-814-2665 / heron.donna@epa.gov

It is interesting to note that this situation is being handled by both the State of Pennsylvania DEP and the USEPA under the authority of the Corrective Action program of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and not Superfund.  This is because the site is still active.  If it were an abandoned site or one where ownership could not be determined, then the determination of contamination and potential clean-up would be undertaken with the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, aka:  Superfund) and not RCRA.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have questions about the regulations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for the USEPA or your State.

Superfund is the common name for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980.  This law was designed to create a mechanism and funding source for the cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous substances.  In many cases, such as this one, the contaminated site was a landfill or some other waste disposal site.  Several importanthagnes were made to CERCLA with the passage of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) of 1986.  These changes included an increase in funding and the use of new technologies for studies.

Five private firms and the City of New York were identified as PRP’s – that is Potentially Responsible Parties – for this site. They are responsible to conduct an investigation of the site under EPA’s oversight, pay EPA $750,000 for its previous work at the site, and reimburse the Agency for any oversight costs. A PRP is an entity that has been identified as a potential contributor to the contamination and may be held liable for the cleanup of a contaminated property. PRP’s may include:

• The current owner or operator of the site.
• The owner or operator of a site at the time of disposal of any hazardous substance.
• A person who arranged for the disposal or treatment of a hazardous substance at the site. Or, arranged for transportation of a hazardous substance to the site.
• A person who transported a hazardous substance to a site they selected.

While the first two bullet points may preclude you from ever buying a landfill or treatment facility, the last two should be a wake-up call to a facility that ships any waste, but especially hazardous waste, off-site for disposal. A generator of hazardous waste may be responsible under Superfund even if its disposal was in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) regulations at the time. Approximately 70% of Superfund cleanup activities have been funded by PRP’s.

I cover topics such as selection and auditing of a waste generator’s Transfer, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) in my public training events. I also include EPA guidance on auditing TSDF’s and a hardcopy of a TSDF audit form as part of the training materials provided to attendees. Much more information of a very practical and useful nature is provided as well as fulfilling the EPA training requirements found at 40 CFR 262.34(a)(4) and 40 CFR 265.16.

The second half of the day’s training fulfills the triennial training requirements of the U.S. Department of Transportation for HazMat Employees. I guarantee you will find this day of training useful and informative.