A specialty chemical company has agreed to pay half a million dollars for environmental violations at its former plant in the Linn County city of Albany.
W.R. Grace operated the facility for 14 years, closing it in December 2024. But EPA investigators say over a five-year period starting in 2019, the company didn’t have a permit for treating, storing, and disposing of hazardous waste. The agency also said chemical solvents were improperly stored and handled.
This led the EPA to issue a civil penalty for $500,000, saying Grace violated the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, enacted in 1976.
In its Consent Agreement with W.R. Grace, the EPA detailed other offenses, including:
“During the Relevant Time Period, (W.R. Grace) stored hazardous waste in certain Totes and other containers…without visibly marking for inspection the date upon which each period of accumulation began and did not label or clearly mark each container with the words “Hazardous Waste.” During the Relevant Time Period, Respondent did not label or clearly mark each of the 8 Tanks listed…with the words “Hazardous Waste.” Respondent did not meet the permit exemption conditions for tanks and containers pursuant to OAR 340-102-0034 and 40 C.F.R. § 262.34(a)(2) and (3) during the Relevant Time Period.”
In an email to KLCC, a Grace spokesperson said the company chose to settle the matter to move forward, adding that there was no risk to human health or the environment. They said the issue didn’t involve any spills, releases, or improper disposal.
“The matter primarily involved a technical question about when certain material had to meet particular waste management requirements while it was onsite. We followed the required procedures for handling, storing, and disposing materials based on our understanding of when in the process they became subject to procedures under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.”
Grace argued the issue wasn’t about improper handling, but was about timing. The spokesperson also highlighted a settlement term in the 36-page Consent Agreement with the EPA, that they (“Respondent”) neither admit nor deny “specific factual or legal allegations” contained in the document.
Grace is based in Columbia, Maryland. It sold the facility to Lacamas Laboratories of Portland last year.
The EPA declined to comment on the case.
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