EPA v. LANXESS CORPORATION

Case summary

OCTOBER 29, 2025 - CONSENT AGREEMENT On April 9, 2024, EPA inspectors, accompanied by inspectors for the SCDES, conducted an unannounced RCRA compliance evaluation inspection (CEI) at the Facility. The EPA?s results of this CEI were provided to the Respondent in a report dated July 2, 2024. The inspectors observed one 4-liter amber jar for spent high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) which held 100 milliliters (mL) of liquid in the SAA of the Facility's Laboratory. The container was open, and the inspectors observed tubing from an idle HPLC machine in the container opening. No hazardous waste was being added to or removed from the open container. The inspectors observed one container of spent lead acid batteries and one container holding a single spent lithium battery. The containers were not labeled with the words ?Universal Waste ? Battery(ies),? ?Waste ? Battery(ies),? or ?Used Battery(ies).? The Respondent was not able to demonstrate the length of time that universal waste had been accumulated from the date it became a waste or was received. The inspectors observed hazardous waste leaking from a recirculation pump onto the secondary containment of the permitted hazardous waste storage tank - the West Organic The inspectors observed an area of corroded concrete that needed repair under the sample port in the permitted secondary containment system. The inspectors reviewed the Facility?s most recent Hazardous Waste Generator Notification (EPA Form 8700-12), which was last updated January 1, 2023. This notification was found to be missing Waste Code F003. The Respondent did not provide the names of employees filling positions related to hazardous waste management, or records documenting that the required training had been given to and completed by Facility personnel. The inspectors reviewed the Respondent?s Contingency Plan, which did not include a current evacuation map, or a list of emergency response equipment and where the equipment is located at the Facility. The Respondent did not provide documentation (i.e., green return receipt cards, emails) that copies of the current Contingency Plan, which was last updated in 2023, were provided to the local emergency response agencies (i.e., fire, police, hospital) or to the Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs). The inspectors requested copies of hazardous waste manifest records for review, but the Respondent was not able to make copies of those records available for viewing. The inspectors observed that the Respondent had not recorded the time of each inspection on the permitted 2022 Organic Hazardous Waste Central Accumulation Area (HWCAA) weekly inspection log sheets, and the Respondent?s environmental file database did not include inspection log sheets for weekly inspections of the permitted container storage area during the weeks of December 1, 2023, and December 18, 2023. The inspectors observed that the daily tank inspections did not document the leaking recirculation pump nor the corroded secondary containment under the sample port, which were observed at the time of the CEI. In addition, the inspectors observed that the January 30, 2022, March 9, 2022, and March 21, 2022, daily tank inspection log sheets for the permitted Organic Hazardous Waste Storage Tank System were blank. The inspectors requested annual certifications, from 2021 through 2023, of the Respondent?s Waste Minimization Plan, but the Respondent was not able to provide the requested certifications.

Defendants (1)

• LANXESS CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• RHODIA INC. - CHARLESTON, SC PLANT

  2151 KING STREET EXTENSION, CHARLESTON, SC, 294058339

  Registry ID: 110017326963

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)

• LANXESS CORPORATIONentered 2025-10-29

  Primary law: RCRA

  Federal penalty: $121,600

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2025-10-29Final Order Issued
• 2025-10-29Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2025-11-13Enforcement Action Data Entered