Published: November 13, 2008 06:56 pm      

FINED: CWM to pay $175K for waste violations

By Mark Scheer mark.scheer@niagara-gazette.com

CWM Chemical Services, LLC has agreed to pay a $175,000 penalty to settle a series of violations of its operating permit and state hazardous waste laws.

And while a company spokesperson said Wednesday the violations have already been addressed and posed no threat to the community, one of CWM’s most ardent critics insisted the items targeted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation show residents are right to be concerned about the company’s Town of Porter operation.

“This is a perfect example of why nobody else in the United States wants a hazardous waste landfill,” said Town of Lewiston resident Amy Witryol, who serves on the CWM Community Advisory Committee.

The DEC announced the conclusion of an enforcement action against CWM for dozens of violations at its Porter facility, including improperly labeled, deteriorating and leaking drums, disposal of non-hazardous waste without DEC approval, process tank overflows, waste transporter conditions compliance failure and other issues.

According to the DEC, CWM has already taken the necessary corrective steps and revised procedures to address all of the violations in question.

“New York state has stringent oversight requirements in place at CWM,” said DEC Regional Director Abby Snyder in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “DEC will continue to hold CWM accountable and closely monitor this facility to help ensure compliance with the state’s permit and hazardous waste laws, as well as the corrective actions required as part of this agreement in order to protect the environment and public health.”

CWM spokesperson Lori Caso said 95 percent of the violations were self-reported by CWM. She also said all of the violations, which occurred between 2000 and 2007, have already been corrected. She said none of the items on the DEC’s list represented a cause for concern to residents living near the landfill.

“The most important thing to understand about all of this is that there was no threat to the health or environment in the community,” Caso said.

Witryol said the most serious item on the DEC’s list —an October 2007 incident in which the facility’s annual discharge of treated wastewater to the Niagara River violated the terms of its State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit — was a “significant” violation and one that would not have been reported had it not been noticed by members of the environmental group the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper. She added that the discharge incident and other violations ran counter to claims from CWM officials who have insisted for years that the facility operates in full compliance with state hazardous waste regulations.

“It’s a little disingenuous to tell us there’s no impact on the community,” Witryol said.

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250