DEEP Inspection Finds Waste Violations At Railyard

By Andrew Gorosko

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) has issued dual “notices of violation” to the Housatonic Railroad Company, Inc, and to Newtown Transload, LLC, concerning substandard conditions and operations at the 30 Hawleyville Road (Route 25) rail terminal where the companies transfer solid waste from trucks onto railcars for shipment to out-of-state landfills.

DEEP issued the notices of violation to the two companies on October 14, based on the results of a September 30 DEEP inspection at the 12.5-acre site.

DEEP issued the notices to the two companies amid DEEP’s seeking to negotiate “consent order” penalties with the companies over DEEP’s July 2010 dual notices of violation to the companies regarding their faulty solid waste handling practices observed at an April 2010 DEEP site inspection. Those enforcement actions would resolve waste handling violations, require specific improvements to the site and its operations, and levy civil penalties.

Amid the two sets of violation notices, DEEP is conducting a technical review of the railroad’s controversial spring 2009 request to DEEP to increase the range of solid waste and also expand the tonnage of solid waste that it handles at the railyard.

Newtown Transload is the railroad’s contractor for solid waste handling at the railyard.

The railroad’s waste expansion application has drawn stiff opposition on environmental grounds from town officials and from a citizens group known as Hawleyville Environmental Advocacy Team (HEAT). The environmental concerns include the potential for surface water pollution and groundwater pollution due to expanded waste operations. Other issues include quality-of-life matters, such as increased truck traffic, increased noise, and additional blowing dust in the area.

In the October 14 DEEP notices of violation, Frank Gagliardo, of the agency’s waste engineering and enforcement division, wrote that the two companies had altered the design and operation of the solid waste handling facility without those changes having received approval from DEEP; failed to post appropriate signs at the entrance to the facility; failed to unload waste only within an enclosed structure; failed to exclude certain wastes, including hazardous wastes such as flammable liquids, and electronic waste such as a computer monitor; failed to maintain fire protection equipment; and failed to submit monthly summaries of incoming and outgoing wastes handled at the facility.

Mr Gagliardo noted that during the September 30 DEEP inspection, a significant amount of flies were seen in the waste unloading area, which when combined with site’s physical conditions, could create harborage, feeding, and breeding areas for vectors.

DEEP asks that the companies provide evidence that they conduct rodent baiting at the site, as they had stated on October 12.

Also, DEEP requests that the companies provide documentation that the unauthorized solid waste that DEEP inspectors found at the site has been properly disposed of at licensed facilities elsewhere.

DEEP’s September 30 site inspection was conducted by William Sigmund and Stan Gormley. The two DEEP environmental analysts toured the site to determine whether the waste handling operation complied with the state’s solid waste laws and regulations.

If the two companies disregard the notices of violation, they would be subject to more formal enforcement actions, such as administrative orders and/or court actions to obtain injunctions and penalties.

Ed Rodriguez, the railroad’s executive vice president and general counsel, said October 26 said of DEEP’s notices of violation, “The report, if true, is distressing, and we’re still investigating.” He declined further comment.

DEEP has issued the violation notices under the terms of the Federal Clean Railroads Act of 2008. That law shifted the responsibility for regulating the health and safety aspects of railroad companies’ solid waste handling practices from the US government to state governments.

Besides solid waste handing, the rail terminal is used for the transfer and storage of building materials, including lumber.

DEEP’s technical review of the railroad’s requested solid waste expansion plans is occurring in light of a state environmental protection law created in June 2010 concerning solid waste handling that occurs near aquifers, which are underground sources of drinking water.

That law seeks to prevent the expansion of solid waste handling facilities that lie within 1,000 feet of a “primary aquifer” or a “secondary aquifer” until and unless there exists a clear need for such additional solid waste handling capacity as specified by the state’s Solid Waste Management Plan. The railroad property sits atop an aquifer.

In practical terms, the new law would likely make it more difficult for the Housatonic Railroad to accomplish its proposed solid waste expansion project.