Don't forget your spill prevention plan-it can get expensive!

Vt. fines C&S for storage of waste
By BOB AUDETTE, Reformer Staff

Wednesday, June 10 BRATTLEBORO -- C&S Wholesale Grocers agreed to pay a $215,000 fine to Vermont for violations of the state's laws governing hazardous waste management and underground storage tanks.
The fine was a result of an investigation conducted by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources in December 2007 and January 2008 at C&S' Brattleboro facility on Old Ferry Road.
C&S is headquartered in Keene, N.H.
The violations included failure to properly store and label hazardous wastes, which could have resulted in the risk of exposures to the wastes and the releases of waste into the environment, inadequate documentation of waste produced and stored on site and inadequate spill prevention for oil and used oil stored at the facility.
"This settlement demonstrates the importance of complying with laws dealing with hazardous wastes and petroleum products," stated Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell, in a press release announcing the settlement.
Businesses that handle these materials have an obligation to manage them appropriately to prevent harming the environment and endangering the public health, stated Sorrell.
"Failure to do so will result in aggressive enforcement action."
The consent decree has been filed with the Washington Superior Court and the settlement is subject to approval by the Vermont Superior Court.
The state was satisfied with the actions taken by C&S to fix the violations, said Assistant Attorney General John Beling. Testing of the area around the violations revealed no soil or water contamination, he said.
"They did a great deal of work prior to the settlement. They cleaned up the situation and did an excellent job."
C&S takes great pride in the manner in which it conducts its operations, said Brian Granger, spokesman for C&S.
"C&S is pleased to have amicably resolved this matter with the state of Vermont. In fully resolving this matter with the state, we can now reinforce our commitment to strong environmental stewardship," he said.
In accepting the fine, C&S admitted to the violations, according to the consent decree, and also agreed to not appeal the decision.
According to court documents, 39 violations were discovered during the ANR site inspections.
C&S had stored on site "numerous containers (which) held uncharacterized waste material that was potentially hazardous."
In addition, many of the containers had been stored on site for longer than 90 days, some of it for up to 12 years. To store waste for longer than 90 days, a company needs a waste storage license from the state, which C&S did not have, nor had it submitted a waste report since 1996.
Paperwork from the state allowing C&S to handle the waste was out of date and did not identify all the wastes generated by the distribution facility.
The state also found that no waste management contingency plans were on hand, that C&S did not have a hazardous waste management training program for its personnel and trailers used to store the waste were not equipped with the required equipment, including spill and fire control equipment.
ANR found that waste was being stored outside in the weather in unmarked containers and on the ground or on other pervious surfaces.
A number of the drums holding the waste were in poor condition, according to the state, and several of them were open or stored in a manner that could have caused them to rupture or leak.
In addition, inventories of the waste were not maintained, used-oil tanks and diesel tanks did not have spill buckets and contained several inches of fuel, water or debris.
This type of case is not all that unusual, said Beling, and the attorney general's office is handling two similar cases right now.
ANR usually handles these types of cases administratively, he said, using an "assurance of discontinuance." ANR can also levy fines, said Beling, and can also refer cases to the attorney general.