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72 Violations for Kettleman City Landfill

By Justin Willis, KSEE24 News
November 15, 2012 Updated Nov 15, 2012 at 7:06 PM PDT

There were 72 violations cited by state officials, dating back to August of 2008, with the most recent occurring less than a month ago, on October 22nd.

State officials say Chem Waste failed to properly notify them of hazardous spills on its Kettleman Hills property.

There have been over 70 spills in the last four years. Most are about 1 to 5 gallons.

Brian Johnson, DTSC Deputy Director of Enforcement: "There was lead contaminated soil for instance, polychlorinated biphenyls."

There were also herbicides, and pesticides.

During the time these violations are said to have happened, Kettleman City residents were blaming local birth defects on illegal dumping at Chem Waste.

With regard to these current citations, the Department of Toxic Substances says there's no connection.

"There's no evidence to suggest the landfill's violations pose any danger to nearby communities, or workers at the facility, or the environment."

Officials have not yet fined Chem Waste for the 72 violations, but to give you an idea, there were two spills at the plant last year that resulted in $46,000 in fines.

The DTSC says Chem Waste's permit regarding hazardous spills requires both verbal, and written, notification.

"if I were Chem Waste, I would take a long hard look at the internal procedures they have to make sure these things don't happen."

In response, Chem Waste says the spills, and clean-up of the spills, are not actual violations, and that it's more about reporting protocols.

The company released a statement saying, "The issue arises from our own internal spill reports, and the fact that DTSC thinks we are required to notify them of small spills. We disagree with their interpretation of our permit, and are currently working with the department to resolve this disagreement."

The department of toxic substances says there could be a significant fine on the way. Officials plan to announce that within the next 8 weeks.

There is a detailed report on each of the 72 violations here on our website, just click on "News Links" above.

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