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Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc. to pay penalty for chemical reporting violations at Aragonite, Utah facility

Release Date: 05/30/2013
Contact Information: David Cobb, 303-312-6592; Matthew Allen, 303-312-6085

Industrial waste incinerator resolves failure to report chemicals to Toxic Release Inventory


(Denver, CO. – May 30, 2013) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)today announced an agreement with Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc. (Clean Harbors) based in Norwell, Mass., resolving alleged violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) at its industrial waste incineration facility in Aragonite, Utah. As part of the settlement, Clean Harbors has agreed to pay a penalty of $39,900 and correct violations associated with the failure to appropriately report chemicals manufactured and used on site.

“The failure of a facility to appropriately file toxic release forms deprives the public its right to know and undermines efforts to prevent pollution and respond to potential emergencies,” said Mike Gaydosh, EPA’s enforcement director in Denver. “EPA will take steps to ensure that companies provide citizens, elected officials, and public safety personnel with information about the chemicals they use and generate.”

Today’s agreement stems from an EPA inspection of the Clean Harbors facility on December 14, 2011 which found the facility manufactured and/or used sixteen regulated chemicals in excess of established reporting thresholds. EPA determined that Clean Harbors did not correctly report the presence or emissions of these chemicals at the Utah facility in 2010 by failing to file required Toxic Release Inventory forms for specific chemicals and providing inaccurate emission data. Clean Harbors has since addressed these deficiencies.

Community right- to-know requirements defined under EPCRA provide the public with critical information regarding the presence, use, and disposal of toxic chemicals in communities and help inform important pollution prevention and emergency response activities. EPA’s action is expected to improve compliance with EPCRA reporting requirements and ensure that facilities provide specific information about chemicals they process, manufacture, or otherwise use on site.

More information on EPCRA available at: https://www.epa.gov/tri/triprogram/whatis.htm