Cedar Rapids metal plating company paying penalty for EPA violations

A Cedar Rapids metal plating plant will pay a civil penalty of more than $19,000 to the government to settle a series of Resource Conservation Recovery Act violations, according to an Environmental Protection Agency news release.

Electro-Coatings of Iowa, Inc., a chrome, nickel, and zinc plating operation at 911 Shaver Rd. NE, will pay a $19,171 civil penalty and it will also spend a minimum of $110,000 to install technology that will reduce the amount of hazardous chrome waste generated at the plant as a supplemental environmental project, according to the release.

According to an administrative consent agreement and final order filed by EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan., an EPA inspector conducted an inspection at the company's Cedar Rapids plant in May 2011, and found several violations of the federal act which regulates hazardous waste.

“Facilities that generate hazardous waste must ensure that the proper procedures are followed in the handling, storage, and management of the waste stream,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks said. “Proper management practices reduce the risk of harm to human health and the environment in the event of an accidental release.”

Electro-Coatings of Iowa generates a large quantity of hazardous waste, over 1,000 kilograms per month, according to the release.  The violations included storage of hazardous waste for longer than 90 days without a permit, hazardous waste container management, emergency equipment, training, contingency plan, universal waste management, operation of a hazardous waste facility without a permit and failing to comply with hazardous waste generator requirements.

By agreeing to the settlement with EPA, Electro-Coatings has certified that it is now in compliance with the Resource Conservation Recovery Act regulations.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act gives EPA the authority to control hazardous waste from the "cradle-to-grave," according to the EPA website. This includes the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste. The act also sets a framework for the management of non-hazardous solid wastes.