Baltimore Steel Galvanizer to Pay $60K for Hazardous Waste Tank Violations

A steel galvanizer in Maryland will pay $60,000 to settle allegations it mismanaged a tank of hazardous waste at its Baltimore facility in violation of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). According to US EPA, the facility’s violations centered on spent hydrochloric acid stored in a tank on site.

Under RCRA, spent or “waste” chemicals must be managed according to specific requirements in 40 CFR when they meet the definition of hazardous waste. The company failed to comply with the following RCRA hazardous waste rules for storage tanks:

• Putting a leak detection system in place for the tank;
• Surrounding the tank with secondary containment to mitigate a spill;
• Conducting daily tank inspections; and
• Subjecting the tank to evaluation by a professional engineer (PE) before using it to store hazardous waste. 

RCRA Penalties Rising

For sites that manage hazardous waste, the cost of noncompliance went up considerably. EPA recently finalized a hike in the maximum civil penalty under the RCRA hazardous waste generator rules—from $37,500 per day, per violation to $70,117 per day, per violation.

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Tags: EPA, fines and penalties, hazardous waste, RCRA