The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that Phillips 66 Co., ConocoPhillips Corp.’s successor, has agreed to pay a $50,000 penalty to settle alleged hazardous waste violations in the company’s former refinery in Trainer, Pa.
Phillips 66 Co. refinery in Trainer, Pa. Photo courtesy of examiner-enterprise.com.
The EPA cited the company for violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which is the federal law governing the treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste.
More specifically, following EPA inspections in 2011 and 2012 and subsequent requests for information, the agency cited the company for RCRA violations involving hazardous waste stored at the facility, including oil refinery hydrocarbon waste, chromium waste, heavy metal waste from batteries, and mercury waste from florescent bulbs.
In more detail, the violations include:
- operating a hazardous waste treatment, storage or disposal facility without a permit.
- failure to keep several hazardous waste containers closed except when necessary to add or remove waste.
- failure to properly manage universal waste batteries and waste lamps.
- failure to update the company’s contingency plan following a change in emergency coordinators.
As part of the settlement, Phillips 66 has neither admitted or denied liability for the alleged violations, but the settlement reflects the company’s compliance efforts and cooperation with the EPA.
RCRA is designed to protect public health and the environment, as well as avoid costly cleanups by requiring the “safe, environmentally sound storage and disposal of hazardous waste.”
The refinery in Trainer was sold in 2012 to the Monroe Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Airlines.
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