EPA fines Eugene wood treatment company $64,000

J.H. Baxter & Company has agreed take corrective action at their Eugene wood treatment facility for mishandling and improper storage of hazardous waste, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday. The firm also will pay a $64,000 penalty as part of the agreement.

“These are significant violations of the regulations intended to ensure the safe handling of hazardous waste like creosote and pentachlorophenol,” said EPA Region 10 Office of Compliance and Enforcement Director Ed Kowalski. “It’s especially important to prevent further groundwater contamination, which can leave a harmful legacy to people and the environment.”

In 2014, inspectors from the EPA found multiple violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, a federal law intended to ensure safe management of hazardous waste from the moment it’s generated to its final disposal.

Specifically, the EPA found staining from the wood preservatives creosote and pentachlorophenol on an asphalt pad outside of a containment area, found an unmarked and undated container of hazardous waste from wood treating activities, and found that Baxter was not adequately cleaning a drip pad to prevent ‘penta’ and creosote from migrating from the containment area.

Baxter is currently working with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to clean up contaminated groundwater at the site, and EPA’s enforcement action is focused on the prevention of recontamination of the soil and groundwater from the operation of the wood treatment facility.

The company has already taken corrective actions to prevent potential land-based contamination from moving offsite, the agency said in a news release

These actions, which resolve one count of the EPA consent order filed from the 2014 inspection, will help to protect the surrounding community and reduce the necessity for additional future cleanup activities.

The second count of the consent order noted the company’s failure to maintain a plan for the closure of the facility. To resolve this violation, the company has agreed to work with Oregon DEQ to develop a cleanup plan following closure.

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The company issued this statement Wednesday:

(Eugene, OR) – J.H. Baxter & Co is working cooperatively with both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) related to environmental issues at our Eugene, OR wood treatment facility. The company has provided customized wood treating services to the forest products industry since 1915.

We recently entered a Consent Agreement and Final Order with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency related to a penalty assessment associated with a 2014 inspection of J.H. Baxter’s Eugene wood treatment facility.

EPA’s September 4, 2018 media statement included the following information ” The second count of the consent order noted the company’s failure to maintain a plan for the closure of the facility. To resolve this violation, the company has agreed to work with ODEQ to develop a cleanup plan following closure.” Those statements may imply closure of the facility is imminent, which is not the case. The closure plan only relates to decommissioning and cleanup related to the drip pads and asphalt surface at some time in the future when and if the facility ceases to operate. J.H. Baxter has no plans to close the Eugene facility.