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Kenai Peninsula Borough maintenance shop to construct new building for hazardous waste storage following series of violations

Release Date: 09/14/2012
Contact Information: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454, [email protected] Jack Boller, EPA RCRA Unit, 206-553-2953, [email protected]

(Seattle—Sept. 14, 2012) The Kenai Peninsula Borough has agreed to construct a building to store hazardous waste following violations of federal waste management rules at its maintenance facility in Soldotna, Alaska, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“Proper hazardous waste management prevents costly, dangerous spills and keeps communities safe,” said Scott Downey, Manager of the Hazardous Waste Compliance Unit in EPA’s Seattle office. “We’re glad that the shop will soon have a building where it can manage hazardous waste more effectively.”

An EPA inspection in 2009 identified hazardous waste violations. The facility failed to determine if waste it was managing was hazardous waste, and failed to label containers of hazardous waste and used oil waste. The substances included paint thinners, kerosene and a mix of solvent and anti-freeze. The improperly labeled containers ranged in size from two-gallon containers to a 300-gallon tank.

The borough offered to construct the building to store hazardous waste as a way to mitigate the penalty EPA sought to address the violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Under the settlement, the borough will construct and operate the building and pay a penalty of nearly $12,800.

For more information on RCRA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/epawaste/inforesources/online/index.htm