EPA v. CREE, INC - RTP

Case summary

9/22/20: CAFO ISSUED - Respondent develops, manufactures and markets semiconductor materials and electronic devices made from silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN). Respondent's Facility is located at 3026 Cornwallis Road, Durham, North Carolina 27709. On June 19, 2019, the EPA and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) conducted a Focused Compliance Inspection (FCI) at Respondent's facility. On July 30 and 31, 2019 the EPA and NCDEQ conducted a Compliance Evaluation Inspection (CEI) at Respondent's facility. The EPA's findings of the FCI and CEI were documented in a report mailed to Respondent, dated October 3, 2019. At the time of the July 30, 2019 FCI, the Respondent was generating an N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP) and spent isopropyl alcohol (IPA) solvent waste mixture as a result of cleaning the surface of silicon carbide and gallium nitride wafers at its facility. The spent IPA solvent has a flashpoint of less than 140 degrees Fahrenheit and is a D001 characteristic hazardous waste. At the time of the June 19, 2019, FCI, the EPA inspector discussed the process at the Respondent's facility and requested additional records documenting how the resulting spent NMP and IPA solvent waste mixture was previously managed upon its generation. The Respondent submitted the additional records on July 1, 2019. The records demonstrated that the Respondent had not manifested the spent NMP and IPA solvent waste mixture as a hazardous waste for off-site treatment on multiple occasions since 2015, including 20 occasions, occurring from November 5, 2015 through October 4, 2018. In addition, the Respondent had not prepared records demonstrating that the spent IPA and NMP solvent waste mixture was a D001 characteristic hazardous waste and had not determined whether the waste met the LDR treatment standards. At the time of the July 30 and 31, 2019 CEI, the EPA inspectors observed the top of a vault containing two 2,000-gallon tanks (T-100 and T-110), which are used for the management of hazardous waste solvents. Facility personnel informed the EPA inspectors at the time of the inspection that the individual tanks within the vault were not labeled with the words Hazardous Waste because it requires a confined space entry to do so.

Defendants (1)

• CREE, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• JDS UNIPHASE

  3026 CORNWALLIS ROAD, RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, 27709

  Registry ID: 110002357985

Statutes cited

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

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• CREE, INC - RTPentered 2020-09-21

  Primary law: RCRA

  Federal penalty: $133,000

Timeline (4 milestones)

• 2020-09-21Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2020-09-21Final Order Issued
• 2020-09-22Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2020-09-23Enforcement Action Closed