Environmental Company Fines for Inadequate Spill Response
Source: Washington DOE
July 19, 2010 - The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) has issued a $14,000 penalty to Emerald Services Inc. for failing to promptly and completely cleanup a December 2009 oil spill at its Lincoln Avenue facility in Tacoma. Ecology says Emerald Services misrepresented its ability to respond to and clean up the spill. When Ecology spill responders checked on the site the following day, oil continued to flow from the spill area and spread in the rainfall. Oil was also found in an underground utility vault. Ecology had to require Emerald Services to order additional resources to complete the cleanup.

Emerald Services operates facilities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Utah. It provides a variety of industrial services, including recycling and recovering solvents and automotive fluids such as oil and antifreeze; transporting hazardous and non-hazardous wastes; and cleanup operations involving vacuum trucks.