Herbicide blender faces $127,000 fine
SELMA — A custom blender and distributor of herbicides, aka weedkillers, is facing a $127,818 fine over 20 alleged environmental violations, including the release of contaminants onto neighboring properties.
Ever since the Eco-Pak plant opened at the western entrance to Selma in 2001, neighbors have complained of chemical vapors, water pollution, health problems, the lack of any living organisms in a ditch, dead vegetation, supposedly buried 55-gallon drums and other illegal disposal practices, records show.
Responding to a complaint in 2002, the Office of Indiana State Chemist (OISC) observed an area of dead vegetation running downhill from Eco-Pak to a neighbor's back yard, where soil sampling detected low levels of the herbicides picloram and diuron. Eco-Pak, which attributed the contamination to the application of herbicides to control weeds on its property, was fined $500 for failing to follow label instructions.
Based on a complaint in 2006, OISC fined Eco-Pak $100 for failure to keep pesticide application records after an investigation found an apparent "pattern of runoff" leading from Eco-Pak down an embankment toward stunted and curled plants in a field of soybeans. Eco-Pak again attributed the contamination to applications of herbicides to control weeds on its property, although it had failed to keep any records of the applications.
Eco-Pak, at 9211 E. Jackson St., now faces a much larger fine after an Indiana Department of Environmental Management inspection alleged the company had been releasing rinsate (water containing low concentrations of herbicides resulting from the cleaning of herbicide containers) onto the ground of neighboring properties.
"Visual evidence of releases of rinsate was observed on the ground in multiple areas on-site and off-site," IDEM claims. If that is accurate, the company could be facing cleanup costs in addition to any fine. A complaint led to the inspection.
Eco-Pak General Manager Nick Hoffman told The Star Press the company is working with IDEM to resolve the alleged violations. He declined further comment because of pending settlement discussions.
The company serves the industrial vegetation management market, including vegetation control along rights of way. At its main facility in Selma and at a newer, smaller plant in Reno, Nev., Eco-Pak maintains more than 200,000 gallons of storage capacity including bulk inventories of all the major herbicide manufacturers, such as Dow, DuPont and BASF.
Eco-Pak's custom blended herbicides are sent off-site to customers in returnable/refillable containers, including 15- and 30-gallon drums and 350 gallon totes. An estimated 45,000 gallons of rinsate per season is generated by triple rinsing those containers and also by cleaning blending tanks.
The rinsate is collected in a pair of 4,000-gallon tanks in a wash bay before being stored in 300-gallon plastic totes and then disposed of in Cincinnati.
However, an IDEM inspection last year found Eco-Pak was not minimizing the possibility of rinsate being released into the environment. According to an inspector, some rinsate is allowed to flow outside the wash bay to a gravelly area that drains to off-site areas including a ditch. In addition, there was no containment in the tote storage area to prevent environmental releases in case of leaky totes or spills when rinsate is pumped into tankers for shipment to Cincinnati.
While rinsate is usually a very diluted herbicide mixture, it must be disposed of responsibly because some herbicides can be very damaging to the environment, particularly to aquatic life, even at very low concentrations, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While Eco-Pak has been managing and disposing of the rinsate as a non-hazardous waste, it actually should have handled it as a hazardous waste, based on sampling that showed concentrations of 2,4-D at levels that may be harmful to human health or the environment, according to IDEM.
That triggered a number of alleged violations including improper waste determination and transporting/storing hazardous waste without a manifest, a notification form, an EPA identification number, a permit, or proper labels. In addition, IDEM claims Eco-Pak failed to conduct weekly inspections of the storage area for leaks, did not have the required emergency equipment, did not have a contingency plan, did not provide hazardous waste training to employees, did not have overfill protection for the 4,000-gallon rinsate tanks, did not inspect those tanks, and failed to provide the required aisle space in the 300-gallon tote storage area. "Specifically, approximately 85 to 90 300-gallon tote containers were positioned so close to each other that the containers could not be adequately inspected," IDEM said.
IDEM has offered to settle the complaint through an agreed order that calls for a fine of $127,817, corrective action and a site assessment plan to sample for contaminated soil, ground water and vapor both on site and off site. If soil or water is found to be contaminated, IDEM would require Eco-Pak to investigate whether there is any chemical vapor intrusion into the indoor air of nearby residences.
Eco-Pak is a unit of Parker City-based Townsend Corp., whose businesses include vegetation management, line clearance and herbicide application services for electric utilities, pipeline companies and roadways; power line and substation construction, herbicide custom blending and repackaging, and storm restoration service.
Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.