Facts

The California Department of Toxic Substances Control is the state agency organized and authorized to administer and enforce the Hazardous Waste Control Law and Title 22 Regulations. Riverbank Oil Transfer, LLC is a Washington limited liability corporation that operated the used oil transfer facility at 5300 Claus Road, Building 11, Modesto, California, and was regulated pursuant to hazardous waste permit no. CalEPA ID #CAL000190816. California Oil Transfer, LLC is a California limited liability corporation that is the successor in interest to Riverbank and the current owner of the oil transfer facility at 5300 Claus Road. From October 12, 2014, to February 4, 2017, Riverbank held a Standardized Hazardous Waste Facility Permit, Series C that authorized them to receive Non-RCRA Hazardous Waste, including: used oil, anti-freeze, and oily wastewater from tank trucks. On June 23, 2016, the Department staff conducted a compliance evaluation inspection of the facility. A summary of violations arising from the inspection was provided by the Department to Riverbank on July 7, 2016. The People of the State of California, ex rel. Meredith Williams, Director of the Department of Toxic Substances Control, brought a civil action against Riverbank Oil Transfer and California Oil Transfer for injunctive relief and civil penalties pursuant to California's Hazardous Waste Control Law and the California Code of Regulations.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs alleged that defendants intentionally or negligently failed to: maintain all secondary containment areas at the facility free of spills and accumulated wastes; maintain the secondary containment in the truck containment area with two coats of flexible epoxy; properly dispose of spills and discharges of used oil at the facility; perform specific tests on the used oil, oily water, and antifreeze for halogens and other deficiencies prior to accepting the wastes; perform daily inspection logs that identified all problems and deficiencies with the condition of the containment area; and store the permitted amount of oil waste in the proper containment area. Further, plaintiffs contended that defendants regularly accumulated more than the 50,000-gallon limit of used oil in its facility and more than the 20,000-gallon limit of used oil outside of the permitted railside secondary containment unit.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS: Defendants denied all contentions.

Result

Defendants agreed to pay $430,000 in civil penalties. Defendants also agreed to not: store hazardous waste in the truck side loading and unloading unit, accumulate more than 50,000 gallons of waste at the facility at one time, store hazardous waste containers outside the permitted storage area, fail to maintain a daily inspection log, comingle separate waste streams, fail to maintain the secondary containment in the truck containment area with flexible epoxy, and maintain all secondary containment areas for containers free of spills and accumulated waste.