OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A Massachusetts-based hazardous waste company has agreed to pay a $790,000 fine to settle a lawsuit claiming that it violated environmental laws at its incinerator in the Nebraska Panhandle.
In a lawsuit settled on Monday, Nebraska and federal regulators accused Clean Harbors Environmental Services of improperly handling hazardous waste at its plant in Kimball, one of the company’s 13 facilities in North America, The Omaha World-Herald reported.
The lawsuit accused Clean Harbors of violations such as improperly mixing waste, releasing hazardous air emissions and incinerating hazardous chemicals in greater amounts than its license allowed. The violations cause numerous fires at the facility, according to the lawsuit.
The EPA said this is the fourth settlement with Clean Harbors since it began running the incinerator in Kimball in 1995. The community did not suffer any known injuries or harm from the violations and corrective actions required by the settlement have been taken, regulators said.
Clean Harbors disagreed with the EPA but decided to settle the matter to fully resolve the issues, said Jim Buckley, Clean Harbors’ senior vice president. Buckley also noted that some of allegations resulted from issues the company reported.
The settlement does not include a finding or admission of wrongdoing.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.