EPA v. SPECIFIED PLATING CO

Case summary

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted inspections at Specified Plating Company (Specified Plating) on January 30 and February 18, 2009, in order to evaluate Specified Plating's compliance with the Illinois regulations for hazardous waste generators promulgated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). As a result of those inspections, the EPA determined that Specified Plating had failed to: (1) Conduct a hazardous waste determination on a solid waste stream generated at the facility; (2) Comply with the time limit restrictions for generators storing hazardous waste without a permit; and (3) Provide RCRA training to employees with duties involving hazardous waste management in the years 2006 and 2007, as well as maintain adequate training records. The EPA had initially alleged several additional violations related to container management and contingency planning, which were later dropped based on relevant information provided by Specified Plating. On August 5, 2010, the EPA notified Specified Plating of its intent to file an Administrative Complaint seeking civil penalties. In its notice, the EPA proposed to seek a penalty of $66,400 for the alleged violations. Settlement negotiations commenced, and the EPA and Specified Plating agreed to settle the matter through the filing of a Consent Agreement and Final Order (CAFO). The terms of settlement require Specified Plating to pay a civil penalty of $5,000. The reduced penalty agreed upon in settlement was based on EPA's consideration of Specified Plating's ability to pay the preliminary proposed penalty, in response to its review of certain financial documents submitted by Specified Plating. The CAFO requires payment of the civil penalty within 30 days of the CAFO’s filing. The CAFO was filed on February 17, 2011. The CAFO also requires Specified Plating to conduct a hazardous waste determination on its powder coating waste in the event it uses powder coating materials containing barium; and to comply with the RCRA standards applicable to large quantity generators of hazardous waste in the event it generates greater than 1000 kilograms of hazardous waste in a calendar month.

Defendants (1)

• SPECIFIED PLATING COMPANYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• SPECIFIED PLATING CO

  320 N HARDING AVE, CHICAGO, IL, 60624

  Registry ID: 110054833702

Statutes cited

• RCRA 3002 — Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• SPECIFIED PLATING COentered 2011-02-17

  Primary law: RCRA

  Federal penalty: $5,000

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2011-02-17Final Order Issued
• 2011-02-17Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2011-03-01Enforcement Action Data Entered