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Conn. Company Will Pay $16,000 and Build $500,000 Hazardous Waste Tank Farm

Release Date: 10/05/2000
Contact Information: Amy Miller, EPA Press Office (617-918-1042)

BOSTON - A Norfolk, Conn., chemical manufacturer has agreed to pay $16,283 and make environmental improvements worth at least $500,000 to settle claims made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the company violated federal law regulating hazardous waste management.

In an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, King Industries promised to pay the penalty and do the environmental projects to settle claims it violated several provisions of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. King manufactures specialty chemicals for the lubricant additive and paints and coatings industries.

"Although King Industries violated hazardous waste laws, the company is to be commended for its quick work of acknowledging violations and correcting them," said Mindy S. Lubber, Regional Administrator of EPA New England. "We take it seriously that the company violated environmental laws, but King was ready to correct its mistakes, pay the price and make significant improvements to its plant."

According to the consent agreement between King Industries and EPA, the company failed to establish an inspection and leak detection and repair program for the air emission standards for hazardous waste tank systems, failed to document all the requirements for conducting required assessments for the design and installation of two new hazardous waste tank systems, failed to document that the effectiveness of the secondary containment systems for a hazardous waste tank; failed to conduct required daily alarm tests and to document follow-up action taken as a result of a problem noted in an inspection log.

In the agreement, King promised to build a state of the art hazardous waste storage building with four new 8,000-gallon hazardous waste tanks and decommission the outdoor above-ground hazardous waste storage tanks. The company also agreed to write and distribute technical information for the design and operation of the new tank system and to share this information with other parties and industry members.