EPA v. Battery Recycling Company, Inc.

Case summary

Respondent cited for several violations, including: Failure to make hazardous waste determinations; Failure to keep containers holding hazardous waste closed; Failure to minimize the risk of fire, explosion or release of hazardous waste/constituents in its handling and management of hazardous waste;Failure to obtain a permit for the storage of hazardous waste (or to satisfy the conditions required to store hazardous waste without a permit); Failure to obtain a permit for the treatment of hazardous waste;Failure to meet the training requirements set forth in the regulations for facility personnel;Failure to have a complete contingency plan for the Battery Recycling facility; and Failure to comply with applicable Land Disposal Restriction requirements. Relief Requested: Make hazardous waste determinations including whenever a material or process change at the Facility may affect a hazardous waste characterization; Eliminate or otherwise minimize the release to air, soil or surface water of lead and/or dust containing other hazardous waste constituents resulting from a number of specified operations and activities involved in the generation, handling, storage and disposal of lead-containing wastes; Eliminate or minimize the release of lead and/or dust containing other hazardous waste constituents resulting from evaporation that occurs during wastewater and stormwater runoff from the lead smelting operations discharged to the facility’s wastewater treatment plant;Eliminate or minimize off-site releases of lead-contaminated stormwater and wastewater; Ensure batteries accepted for reclamation are regularly processed within 24 hours of receipt; Ensure that all hazardous waste generated at the Facility is managed, treated and disposed in accordance with applicable hazardous waste regulations, including that all hazardous waste storage on-site shall not exceed 90 days. Eliminate or significantly reduce the off-site release of lead and/or other hazardous waste constituents resulting from the movement of vehicles to and from, and within, the facility, and from various employee practices;Submit within 10 days of execution of the settlement a standard operating procedure manual, subject to EPA approval, to ensure compliance with the injunctive relief benchmarks;Effect the total enclosure within 14 months of those portions of the facility in which lead-containing dust is generated, and, during the 14-month period, take interim measures to ensure that the release of such dust is minimized to the fullest extent possible; Obtain a permit under either RCRA or the Clean Water Act in order that the operations of the facility’s wastewater treatment plant attain regulatory compliance, with Respondent required to apply for such permit within 30 days of the execution of the agreement; Institute a training program for facility personnel that complies with applicable regulatory requirements; and Prepare a contingency plan for the facility complying with applicable regulatory requirements.

Defendants (1)

• Battery Recycling Company, Inc.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• THE BATTERY RECYCLING COMPANY

  PR-2 KM 72.2 BO CAMBALACHE, ARECIBO, PR, 00612

  Registry ID: 110004892885

Statutes cited

• RCRA 3002 — Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste
• RCRA 3005 — Permits for Treatment, Storage, or Disposal of Hazardous Waste

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Battery Recycling Company, Inc.entered 2012-02-21

  Primary law: RCRA

  Federal penalty: $112,500 · SEP: $598,935

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2012-02-21Enforcement Action Closed
• 2012-02-21Final Order Issued
• 2012-02-21Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2012-04-03Enforcement Action Data Entered