DEP Fines Facility For
Illegally Disposing of Hazardous Waste
(03/1) TRENTON - The New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced
that the Curtiss Wright Corporation was fined $109,991 for
improperly identifying and disposing of more than 33,000
gallons of hazardous waste that was generated from clean
up efforts at its former Bergen County facility.
"Curtiss Wright's mishandling of hazardous
waste was truly blatant, putting residents, workers and
the environment at risk simply to save costs of safe treatment,"
said DEP Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell. "This cavalier
regard for the requirements of the law dema nds severe penalties."
As part of a remediation project at its
former facility in Wood-ridge, Curtiss Wright pumps and
treats contaminated groundwater to remove oil and other
volatile organic chemicals. Between May 1998 and November
1998, the waste removed from the contaminated groundwater
was labeled as hazardous and shipped off site to facilities
permitted to dispose of hazardous waste.
In January 1999 through March 2002, Curtiss
Wright shipped the same waste generated from the contaminated
groundwater as non-hazardous. Twelve shipments totaling
33,275 gallons of hazardous waste were improperly labeled
and sent to facilities not authorized to handle the treatment,
storage or disposal of hazardous waste. In addition to public
health risks and environmental impacts, failure to prepare
a required hazardous waste manifest or properly identify
the type of waste being disposed of can negatively impact
the permitted design of the receiving facility.
The DEP issued Curtiss Wright a $109,991
fine for violations of the Solid Waste Management Act, including:
failure of a generator of solid waste to determine if waste
is hazardous; failure of a generator to prepare a manifest
before offering hazardous waste for transport off-site;
failure of a generator to designate an authorized facility
on the manifest; and failure of a generator to determine
if the hazardous waste is restricted from land disposal.
In addition to penalties assessed for environmental
violations, the $109,991 fine issued to Curtiss Wright includes
a penalty for $4,991 - reflecting the economic savings realized
by disposing hazardous waste as non-hazardous waste. The
DEP has invoices that show that Curtiss Wright paid $.80
per gallon for hazardous waste disposal and $.65 per gallon
for non-hazardous waste disposal.
In a separate Notice of Civil Administrative
Penalty Assessment, the transporter - Allstate-ORC in West
Milford, Passaic County - was fined $3,000 for accepting
hazardous waste from a generator without a required hazardous
waste manifest.
Currtiss Wright has requested a hearing
concerning the DEP's penalty assessment.
A copy of the DEP's Administrative Order
and Notice of Civil Administrative Penalty Assessment issued
to Curtiss Wright is available upon request.
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