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Brand FX Body of Pocahontas, Iowa, to Replace Use of Solvent and Pay $11,021 Penalty for Hazardous Waste Violations

Release Date: 09/13/2011
Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov


Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., Sept. 13, 2011) - SNF, Inc., doing business as the Brand FX Body Company, of Pocahontas, Iowa, has agreed to pay a $11,021 civil penalty to the United States, and spend an additional $61,715 on a supplemental environmental project, to settle a series of violations of federal hazardous waste regulations.

According to an administrative consent agreement filed by EPA Region 7 in Kansas City, Kan., Brand FX’s supplemental environmental project will involve replacing the hazardous chemical acetone used at the Pocahontas facility with a non-hazardous product, Acrastrip.

Brand FX, which manufactures fiberglass service bodies for utility trucks, was inspected by EPA in May 2010. That inspection cited several violations of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which regulates hazardous waste.

Those violations included failure to conduct a hazardous waste determination, operation of a hazardous waste facility without a RCRA permit or interim status, failure to comply with universal waste requirements, and a series of failures to comply with hazardous waste generator requirements, including several issues or deficiencies related to the company’s emergency contingency plan.

“This case illustrates how EPA’s civil enforcement authority can yield positive outcomes that aren’t measured by the amounts of penalties or injunctive relief,” EPA Region 7 Administrator Karl Brooks said. “By proposing and agreeing to switch to the use of a non-hazardous chemical in its manufacturing, this company has taken steps to make its operations safer not just for employees, but for the surrounding community, as well.”

By agreeing to the settlement with EPA, Brand FX has certified that its Pocahontas operations are now in compliance with all requirements of RCRA.