EPA v. RELIANCE TREATED WOOD, INC.

Case summary

On April 20, 2017, Region III entered into a Consent Agreement with, and issued a Final Order to Reliance Treated Wood, Inc., settling violations of RCRA Subtitle C at the company's facility in Federalsburg, Maryland ( Facility ). The settlement will prevent future migration of wood treating chemicals to soil. Reliance treats lumber at the Facility. Because the Facility generates hazardous waste in the form of wood preservative drippage containing chromated copper arsenate, Reliance is required to comply with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA); the federal hazardous waste regulations; and the authorized Maryland Hazardous Waste Management regulations. RCRA is designed to protect human health and the environment by providing for the safe management of such hazardous wastes. During the inspection, and through subsequent communications, the EPA Inspector learned that Reliance: (1) operated a hazardous waste storage facility without a permit or interim status; (2) failed to obtain and keep on file an annual written assessment of its drip pad; (3) failed to maintain its drip pad; (4) failed to maintain an adequate contingency plan for the Facility; (5) failed to maintain personnel records; and (6) failed to make a waste determination on waste lamps, and failed to store them properly. The Company has agreed to pay a penalty of $69,000 to settle this enforcement action. The Company has also put in place an arrangement for annual assessment of the drip pad. The Consent Agreement and Final Order initiate and resolve this enforcement action. EPA informed Maryland?s Department of the Environment ( MDE ) of the action by letter and received no objection. Ten years earlier, EPA and MDE discovered similar violations at this Facility during a joint inspection. This prior inspection resulted in EPA assessing a civil penalty and MDE requiring the investigation and remediation of arsenic and chromium contamination in the soil and groundwater at the Facility.

Defendants (1)

• RELIANCE TREATED WOOD, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• RELIANCE TREATED WOOD COMPANY INC

  2000 INDUSTRIAL PARK RD, FEDERALSBURG, MD, 21632

  Registry ID: 110000340293

• RELIANCE TREATED WOOD, INC.

  2000 INDUSTRIAL PARK, FEDERALSBURG, MD, 21632

  Registry ID: 110000340293

Statutes cited

• RCRA 3002 — Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• RELIANCE TREATED WOOD, INC.entered 2017-04-20

  Primary law: RCRA

  Federal penalty: $69,000

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2017-04-20Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2017-04-20Final Order Issued
• 2017-04-24Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2017-05-02Enforcement Action Closed