The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (“ODEQ”) issued a December 31, 2024, Notice of Civil Penalty Assessment and Order (“Notice”) to Chemical Waste Management of the Northwest, Inc. (“Chemical Waste”) addressing alleged violations of the hazardous waste regulations. See Case No. LQ-HW-ER-2024-614.
The Notice provides that Chemical Waste operates a hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility (“Facility”) in Arlington, Oregon pursuant to a permit.
The Facility is stated to have received 6 shipments of waste between May 31 and November 15, 2023, of ferric chloride solution for disposal at the Facility. It is stated to have not treated the waste to meet land disposal restriction standards for chromium prior to disposing it in the landfill.
The Notice also provides that in November 2023, Chemical Waste disposed 40 20-yard roll-off containers totaling 347,560 pounds of spent potliner waste from primary aluminum reduction in the landfill and failed to treat the waste to meet treatment standards prior to disposal at the landfill.
During February 9 and 20, 2024, the Facility discharged a total of 60,000 gallons of wastewater from the Organic Recovery Unit treatment tanks into surface impoundment pond B. The Facility is stated to have failed to sample the pond for compatibility with the wastewater prior to its discharge.
The Notice states that ODEQ has determined that Chemical Waste violated certain provisions of Oregon law including hazardous waste and used oil laws.
The Notice also states:
…DEQ appreciates your efforts to identify and disclose the violations, as well as your efforts to address the violations by improving training, modifying profiling, receiving, and disposal procedures, and in the case of the potliner waste, excavating the waste and surrounding contaminated soil from the landfill. DEQ considered these efforts when determining the amount of civil penalty.
The Notice assesses a civil penalty of $49,200.00.
Chemical Waste is provided the right to a contested case hearing on the Notice.
A copy of the Notice can be downloaded here.
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