Utah fines hazardous-waste firm

The state Department of Environmental Quality has issued a $10,708 fine to a hazardous-waste disposal facility in Tooele County because of at least eight permit violations.

The Grassy Mountain facility, owned by Massachusetts-based Clean Harbors, was fined for paperwork violations including failure to notify the state about a compliance issue and improperly storing hazardous waste. The facility is located in Knolls, which is along Interstate 80 in Tooele County, en route to Wendover, Nev.

Don Verbica, commercial facilities section manager at the Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste, said Wednesday that the violations were fairly typical but enough to warrant a fine. The violations happened over a yearlong period from October 2005 until September 2006.

Each federal fiscal year, the state conducts yearlong inspections of facilities such as Grassy Mountain. The inspections are then reviewed and a fine levied, if warranted.

The state is now in settlement negotiations with Clean Harbors over separate violations at an incinerator the company owns near Aragonite, which is just east of Knolls. Any violations will be announced after a public hearing and review by the state Hazardous Waste Control Board, Verbica said.

"I think we understand that these things will happen, and we have a working relationship with the company, and overall, we think they're operating in an environmentally safe manner," Verbica said. "But they can always do better, and hopefully with the penalty, that will encourage them to do better."

A spokesman for Clean Harbors did not return several calls for comment Wednesday.

Of the violations, the most notable was for improperly storing a hazardous solid waste. The waste was treated, then put in a storage cell. The cell got rained on, and that caused a reaction that propelled the material to "pop off" and burn holes in a protective liner, Verbica said.

In 2006, Clean Harbors applied for a state permit to dispose of class-A, or low-level, nuclear waste at its landfill. The DEQ has made no movement on the application because the company must first obtain approval from Tooele County, the Legislature and the governor.

None of the three have indicated they would approve the plan. The only licensed radioactive-waste facility in the state is EnergySolutions, also located in Tooele County.

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com