Momentive to pay $1.25M civil penalty
Company admits exceeding state, federal limits on burning hazard waste
ALBANY, N.Y. >> Momentive Performance Plastics has agreed to pay a $1.25 million civil penalty to resolve a complaint alleging violations of federal and state environmental laws in ITs use of an incinerator at its manu- facturing facility in Waterford.
The U. S. Attorney’s Office, the federal Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency and the state Attorney General’s Office and Department of Environmental Conservation jointly announced the settlement Thursday afternoon after the settlement was final- ized earlier in the day in U. S. District Court.
“Our laws provide essential protections to New Yorkers’ health, safety and environment,” said state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in a news release. “[ Momentive] f louted clean air and hazard-
ous waste laws at its Waterford facility and, as a result, released harmful, toxic chemicals into the surrounding community t housands of times.”
Company spokesman John Kompa said the company has cooperated with authorities throughout the investigation and discontinued the practice in 2009.
“This represents the final resolution to an issue that Momentive corrected more than eight years ago after identifying the issue that began under GE’s ownership, and for which there is no indication of any significant impact on the environment,” Kompa said in an emailed statement.
“We remain committed to the safe and lawful operations of all our facilities, including Waterford, and the protection of our employees, communities, and the environment.”
The complaint alleged the company manually
overrode an automatic cutoff system on an incinerator used to burn hazardous waste generated from the manufacture of silicone- based sealants at the Waterford plant.
The system was specifically designed to ensure compliance with state and federal environmental standards, but unbeknownst to federal and state authorities, the company manually overrode it several times in December 2008 to burn excessive amounts of hazardous waste, in violation of state and federal permits.
As a result, the company released many harmful, hazardous air pollutants into the community.
“Violations of New York state’s environmental
laws and regulations are serious offenses with serious consequences,” said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos.
“This fine is the result of the collaborative efforts of state and federal partners working together to protect our communities.
New York state has zero tolerance for anyone who rigs the system to break environmental laws that protect public health and the environment.”
The state and federal governments entered into a similar settlement in 2015 with General Electric — which owned the plant until selling it to Momentive in December 006 — for similar violations during that company’s ownership.