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Navy to Pay $2,500 to Settle Hazardous Waste Storage Case at Lab in D.C.

Release Date: 4/6/1999
Contact Information: Ruth Podems, (215) 814-5540

WASHINGTON, D.C.  - The U.S. Navy agreed to pay $2,500 to settle alleged hazardous waste violations at the Naval Research Laboratory at 4555 Overlook Ave., S.W.

According to EPA’s September 1998 administrative complaint, the Navy violated several provisions of its permit for hazardous waste storage at the laboratory.  The Navy allegedly stored hazardous waste containers on a non-leakproof, cracked concrete base, and stored dangerously incompatible hazardous materials next to one another.

The Navy was cited under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the  federal statute regulating the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. RCRA’s "cradle to grave" regulation of hazardous wastes is designed to prevent costly cleanups of waste sites by requiring the safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous materials.

In addition to payment of a civil penalty, the Navy has certified its compliance with its hazardous waste storage permit.   In the settlement papers, the Navy neither admitted nor denied its liability for the alleged violations.


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