Arizona Not Happy Handling Others' Waste

By: Duane Craig

Dome Rock Industries was busily handling hazardous waste in Quatzite, Ariz., when it got sideways with the local environmental folks. The company recently agreed to pay a $25,000 settlement for violations of solid waste and water quality rules.

The company is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency under its Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, or RCRA, program as a handler of hazardous waste. Names listed as responsible parties and contacts for Dome Rock Industries also appear as officers of a San Diego company called EFR Environmental Services, which is involved in handling emergency response, well monitoring, waste solids and liquids and transport of hazardous materials. Perhaps that explains the comment made by an Arizona Department of Environmental Quality official who claimed the company was using Arizona as "a dumping ground for out-of-state interests," specifically from California, according to this article on ParkerLive.

In 2003, according to the same article, Dome had paid $100,000 in penalties for accepting loads of hazardous wastes without a permit, shipping hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility and failure to comply with reporting and tracking requirements. The ADEQ inspected the operation in October 2008 and decided to investigate things further. Dome closed down in March 2009. The violations that led to this latest settlement include not protecting the aquifer, suppressing dust with contaminated water, improper storage of contaminated soil and not protecting the ground when offloading.