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Department of Ecology News Release - November 12, 2009
09-266
SPOKANE--An electroplating and metal finishing facility in the Spokane Valley will pay the state $34,000 to settle violations for long term dangerous waste mishandling.
Inspectors from the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) found 20 violations of dangerous waste regulations at Novation, Inc. in October 2008 and February 2009. Since the inspection Novation has cooperated with Ecology and come into compliance with the regulations.
When dangerous chemicals are mishandled, the chances become higher that people and the environment will be exposed to the chemicals. The facility houses sludge that contains toxic metals from the plating and finishing operation such as chrome, as well as corrosives, cyanides and a solvent called methyl ethyl ketone. Health problems can develop if people are exposed to these substances.
The violations at Novation include not properly labeling dangerous waste containers, not keeping the containers closed, keeping waste on-site for too long, and not keeping the required records and logs.
The recommended penalty was originally $42,500 but Novation entered into an expedited settlement agreement with Ecology to reduce the recommended penalty by 20 percent to $34,000. The settlement lowers the recommended penalty and requires Novation to waive its right to appeal. Ecology is testing this new expedited settlement process in an effort to save the state, taxpayers, and Novation the expense of costly litigation.
“Ecology has spent a significant amount of money and time to help bring the company into compliance over the years,” said Lisa Brown, a manager in Ecology’s Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program in Spokane. “Over the past decade Novation has repeatedly come into compliance but then lets things go back to the way they were.”
Since 2000, the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction Program has issued 47 penalties statewide, totaling more than $1.7 million. Thirty-one of those 47 penalties were appealed. Of those, no more than eight went to hearing, but all went through the legal process of preparing for hearing, which is the most time and money consuming part of the process.
“It is obvious that we have had some holes in our administrative system when it came to the handling of some of our hazardous waste procedures,” said Novation President Fred LeFriec. “We take all ecology matters very seriously and have implemented system and procedural changes along with personnel changes to eliminate these types of violations in the future.”
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Media Contact: Jani Gilbert, Communications, 509-329-3495; cell, 509-990-9177; e-mail jani.gilbert@ecy.wa.gov.
For more information: www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/hwtr/index.html
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
