The Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) and Pine Ridge Transportation, LLC (“Pine Ridge”) entered into a May 23rd Consent Order (“CO”) addressing alleged violations of the Alabama Hazardous Waste Management and Minimization Act provisions addressing used oil.
The CO states that Pine Ridge owns and operates a used oil transportation business which also includes both a used oil transfer facility and a used oil processor/re-refiner.
ADEM is stated to have conducted a June 30, 2015 inspection of the Pine Ridge facility identifying the following alleged violations:
- Operated a used oil transportation business but did not obtain an Environmental Protection Agency Identification Number form ADEM
- Collected used oil from various sources and then transported the used oil to its used oil transfer facility in Tanner, Alabama without having received an Alabama Used Oil Transport Permit from ADEM
- Failed to keep closed 75 containers of used oil staged in, near, and behind the Used Oil Storage Area in its transfer facility (At the time of the inspection, used oil was not being added to or removed from the containers.)
- Did not equip three above-ground used oil tanks staged at the rear of the Used Oil Storage Area in its transfer facility with a secondary containment system
- Did not label or mark clearly with the words “used oil” various used oil storage units at its transfer facility
- Did not clean up and manage properly released used oil not subject to certain corrective action requirements, located on the grounds along the north, east, and south sides of the Used Oil Storage Area/Tank Farm and in other locations where totes holding used oil were staged
- Stored used oil at its Used Oil Transfer facility for more than 35 days, thereby becoming subject to requirements applicable to used oil processor/re-refiners but did not have a contingency plan designed to minimize hazards to human health or the environment from fires, explosions, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of used oil to air, soil or surface water
ADEM issued a Notice of Violation (“NOV”) to which Pine Ridge responded.
The CO states that Pine ridge acknowledges seven violations identified in the ADEM Compliance Evaluation Inspection. It also states that it has been collecting used oil in an effort to expand business opportunities to complement the logistics operation for over-the-road trucking.
This endeavor is stated to have provided Pine Ridge zero income from the used oil activities and since a conference call with ADEM all used oil activities have ceased and the focus has been remediation, abatement and otherwise correcting deficiencies in the operations.
Such efforts are described in the CO, including the amount of money expended by Pine Ridge.
Pine Ridge neither admits nor denies ADEM’s contentions.
A civil penalty of $25,380 is assessed.
A copy of the CO can be downloaded here.
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