  |
|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Oct. 25, 1999
99-175
CONTACT: Jani Gilbert, Public Information Manager, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289
SPOKANE - Hazardous-waste violations at a Spokane Valley company have led to a settlement that will net substantial benefits to the environment.
More than a year ago, the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) fined the Inland Empire Plating/Middco Tool & Equipment Company $177,000 for improper storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials. Since then, the company came into compliance with the state's hazardous-waste regulations and now has agreed to achieve "zero discharge" by September 2004-which is above and beyond the requirements of state law.
"Ecology's highest goal is to prevent pollution from ever entering the environment," said Greg Sorlie, who manages Ecology's hazardous-waste program. "This innovative agreement allows us to work with the company to prevent pollution in ways that we couldn't have achieved through the usual regulatory process."
An inspection in the spring of 1998 revealed that the facility was substantially out of compliance with dangerous-waste regulations addressing storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials. Plating operations use compounds and generate wastes with high concentrations of heavy metals and toxic chemicals.
In addition to issuing a fine to the company, Ecology required the plant to meet a strict schedule to bring the facility into compliance with all applicable regulations, including conducting dangerous-waste training for staff and developing emergency plans.
These requirements have now been met, but Inland Empire Plating appealed the $177,000 penalty to the Pollution Control Hearings Board.
The new settlement, approved by the board, requires Inland Empire Plating to pay a $34,000 penalty, $10,000 of which will go to Spokane's regional hazardous-materials team. Combined, the expenditures for the pollution-prevention measures, such as achieving "zero discharge," will exceed the amount of the original penalty.
The plant will be reconfigured to reduce the amount of water used in its production process and therefore will reduce the amount of waste water it produces. The amount of waste water produced will be so small that Inland Empire Plating will not have to discharge it to the sewer system. The company also will install containment for its main product-storage area and seal its floors, further protecting soil and ground water at the plant from spills.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
