Philip Services Division Closing HazWaste Facility

Philip Services Corp. will voluntarily expedite closure of its Georgetown hazardous waste facility in Seattle, Wash., as part of a settlement with the EPA of a $773,000 complaint filed by the agency last August for several violations of groundwater monitoring and analysis requirements of its permit. The decision to close the facility was made Jan. 17th.

The facility has been taking in primarily organic materials such as paint thinners and solvents. Generators who shipped to the facility included the Department of Defense, the EPA and Boeing. The facility has been in operation for more than 20 years.

The facility, under the name Burlington Environmental Inc., agreed to pay a $136,115 penalty and will spend at least $2.152 million to speed up the closure of the plant by the end of next year. The company also agrees to comply with the corrective action permit intended to address cleanup at the facility.

The Georgetown operations will be transferred from its existing location to two existing facilities in industrial communities in Tacoma, Wash. and Kent, Wash.

Currently the company is investigating the extent of historic benzene and solvent contamination under the Georgetown community.

The company operates hazardous-waste storage, transfer and treatment plants in Kent, Tacoma and the Georgetown neighborhood, and also operates a laboratory in Renton that analyzes the waste being handled at its operations.

While Philip agrees to the terms of this consent agreement and final order it does not admit liability for the violations alleged in EPA’s August complaint.