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Newsroom: Press Release Archive: August 2006
  • Aug. 29, 2006: ADEQ Director Steve Owens, Attorney General Terry Goddard Announce $65,000 Penalty Against Roadway Express for Hazardous Waste Violations
  • Aug. 16, 2006: ADEQ Director Owens Announces $50,000 Brownfields Grant to Revitalize Flagstaff Neighborhood

ADEQ Director Steve Owens, Attorney General Terry Goddard Announce $65,000 Penalty Against Roadway Express for Hazardous Waste Violations

PHOENIX (Aug. 29, 2006) -- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens and Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard announced today that Roadway Express, Inc., has agreed to pay $65,000 in civil penalties for violations of the Arizona Hazardous Waste Management Act. The company, based in Akron, Ohio, transports industrial, commercial and retail goods.

On Sept. 17, 2004, a tractor trailer stored at the company's 2021 S. 51st Ave. trucking hub facility in Phoenix caught fire when hazardous waste illegally stored in the trailer spontaneously combusted. A second tractor trailer also caught fire during the incident. Fire extinguishers were stored inside the tractor trailers and were therefore not available for use when the fire started.

"The company's improper storage of hazardous waste posed a threat to the public, the environment, and the company's own employees," Owens said. "It's fortunate that no one was injured in this event. The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the violations."

ADEQ's Emergency Response Unit was called to the scene by the Phoenix Fire Department to assist with the response effort. During a subsequent inspection of the facility, ADEQ discovered the wastes had been stored for more than one year in an undivided tractor trailer without any ventilation or means of separating the incompatible materials, in violation of Arizona's hazardous waste laws. The wastes included approximately 30 containers of corrosive acids and bases, batteries, the solvent methyl ethyl ketone, and xylene, a solvent that is also an element of gasoline.

In November 2004, ADEQ issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to the company for storage of hazardous waste without a permit, failure to prevent accidental ignition or reaction of ignitable or reactive hazardous waste, failure to segregate incompatible hazardous waste, and failure to submit hazardous waste manifests to ADEQ.

"The Attorney General&'s Office and ADEQ continue to prosecute companies that violate the hazardous waste laws," Goddard said. "Roadway's improper operation of its facility and the resulting fire created potential harm to the public and environment. Companies must make an ongoing commitment to comply with Arizona's environmental laws."

The settlement is subject to court approval.

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ADEQ Director Owens Announces $50,000 Brownfields Grant to Revitalize Flagstaff Neighborhood

PHOENIX (Aug. 16, 2006) -- Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Director Steve Owens today announced that the department has awarded a $50,000 grant through its Brownfields Program to the City of Flagstaff to begin assessment, cleanup and revitalization of a local neighborhood.

Under the grant, the city will perform Environmental Site Assessments on two adjacent land parcels located at 116 and 216 West Phoenix Avenue in Flagstaff's Southside neighborhood, which has experienced difficulties over the years due primarily to area flooding. The five-acre site must be cleaned of suspected contaminants before flood-related issues can be addressed.

The site includes a vacant lot, parking lot, warehouse, power plant, railroad spur lines and a storage yard, and a wood preservation vat.

Phase I of the environmental assessment is expected to begin before the end of August, with Phase II slated to start in September. The City of Flagstaff then expects to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency's Brownfields Program for a grant to begin cleanup next year.

"We are pleased to support Flagstaff's efforts to put these properties back into productive economic use for the community," Director Owens said. "Our Brownfields program reduces environmental hazards and makes it possible to put these properties to work once again."

A brownfield is an abandoned or under-used property with an active redevelopment potential that suffers from environmental contamination.

ADEQ's Brownfields program is made possible with funds ADEQ receives from the federal government.

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