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Department of Ecology News Release - Aug. 6, 2003
03-157
SPOKANE - B&G Farms Inc. of Grant County has paid $20,000 of a $24,000 fine assessed for allowing a mint-slug pile to spontaneously combust and burn for several days early in 2002.
The penalty was the third in the last three years issued by the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) for similar fires at B&G Farms.
B&G Farms' owner, Mike Brown of Royal City, had received technical advice and warnings from Ecology inspectors several times over the past decade that the mint slug piles needed to be managed to avoid spontaneous combustion.
Ecology issued the $24,000 fine on July 16, 2002. It was appealed to the state's Pollution Control Hearings Board. In settlement negotiations, Ecology agreed to lower the fine if B&G Farms would dismiss the appeal.
Mint slugs are the solid wastes generated after distilling mint oil from leaves. When not managed properly, a pile of mint slugs will eventually smolder and burn.
Burning mint slug piles can cause health problems when the small particles of smoke and soot are inhaled. The piles can be managed to avoid burning in a number of ways, including spreading them on the ground, turning the piles regularly or disposing them in another way.
Over the years, the company has been penalized $63,750 for air quality violations, including fines for mint-slug fires and for lacking permits for two diesel-oil-fired boilers it built.
In total, the agency has issued nearly $125,000 in fines to the B&G Farms/Brown Boys Feed operations, including penalties for water-quality violations and illegal dumping of hazardous materials.
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Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-456-4464; pager, 509-622-1289
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
