September 30, 2024
(press release)
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Company has agreed to pay a $235,782 penalty, perform a Supplemental Environmental Project to reduce air emissions, and make other changes to its waste management practices. BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (September 30, 2024) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that it has reached a settlement with Giant Resource Recovery – Attalla, Inc. (GRR) to resolve alleged violations of federal and state laws governing the treatment and storage of hazardous wastes at GRR’s Attalla, Alabama, facility (Facility). GRR blends hazardous waste at the Facility for use as fuel in boilers and industrial furnaces. The Facility operates under a hazardous waste permit issued by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). In August 2020, representatives of the EPA and ADEM conducted a compliance evaluation inspection at the Facility under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and the Alabama Hazardous Wastes Management and Minimization Act. During the inspection, and after evaluation of additional information, the EPA noted several potential violations of state and federal organic air emission requirements for hazardous waste tanks, among other requirements. “It's important that companies treating and storing hazardous wastes follow applicable federal and state regulations in order to protect human health and the environment,” said Keriema Newman, Director of the Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division of the EPA’s Southeast Region. “Companies are responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable environmental law.” As part of the settlement with the EPA, GRR is instituting new measures to prevent recurrence of the alleged violations. GRR has also agreed to pay a civil penalty totaling $235,782. In addition, GRR has agreed to implement a Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) to further reduce organic air emissions from its hazardous waste tank system. SEPs are environmentally beneficial projects that are not required by law but that a party agrees to undertake as part of the settlement of an enforcement action. Such projects are closely related to the alleged violation being resolved, but go beyond what is legally required, and they secure environmental and public health benefits in addition to those achieved by compliance with the law. GRR will spend at least $641,831 on the SEP, which will include modifications and replacement of some of its organic air emission controls on the hazardous waste tank system.
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