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State fines Washougal company $25K for improperly managing hazardous waste

Burlington Environmental, located near Steigerwald wildlife refuge in Port of C-W industrial park, penalized for ‘dangerous’ waste management

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Clean Earth trucks sit in the parking lot of the Burlington Environmental site at the Camas-Washougal industrial park, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024. (Doug Flanagan/Post-Record)

The Washington Department of Ecology has fined a Washougal company $25,000 for improperly managing hazardous waste.

The state said this month that Burlington Environmental, located at 632 S. 32nd St., in the Camas-Washougal Industrial Park, improperly stored dangerous waste on its Washougal site for several months and failed to adequately train its employees to manage the waste.

“Businesses in many parts of Washington and Oregon count on Burlington Environmental to safely handle and dispose of their waste, so it’s essential for a company like this to fully understand and comply with Washington’s dangerous waste regulations,” Katrina Lassiter, Ecology’s hazardous waste and toxics reduction program manager, stated in a news release. “We all rely on those regulations to protect our water quality, environment, and the health of our communities.”

Burlington Environmental, a subsidiary of Clean Earth, a Pennsylvania-based specialty waste company, acts as a transfer facility, collecting waste from commercial clients in Oregon and Washington and transporting the waste to disposal facilities. The company manages dangerous and solid waste, including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, aerosols and flammable materials. Ecology said the materials can — if managed improperly — harm people, animals and the environment. The company is located near the environmentally sensitive Steigerwald Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

Ecology inspectors have observed several violations at Burlington Environmental since December 2022, and encouraged the company to voluntarily comply with the state’s dangerous waste regulations.

“Ecology issued the penalty after documenting repeated violations, including failure to train employees in dangerous waste management, failure to document and track waste at the facility, and failure to transport waste materials to disposal facilities within 10 days,” Ecology leaders stated in the news release.

Burlington Environmental has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal the fine to Washington’s Pollution Control Hearings Board.

In 2022, Ecology issued a cleanup order at Burlington Environmental, and said the company had released or “threatened release” of hazardous substances. The state required Burlington Environmental to finalize a feasibility study report and draft a cleanup action plan.

“Past activities from Burlington and previous owners resulted in spills and releases at the site over time, which contaminated soil and groundwater,” according to Ecology. “These chemicals may be dangerous to human health and the environment.”

On its website, Ecology states that the cleanup efforts are “moving forward.”

Representatives at Clean Earth, Burlington Environmental’s parent company, did not respond to The Post-Record’s request for comment in time for this newspaper’s print deadline.