State regulators have fined Discount Towing and Recovery $67,575 for multiple environmental violations.
The northeast Salem towing and recycling company broke laws regulating hazardous waste, used oil, waste tires and stormwater, the state Department of Environmental Quality said in its penalty order.
Many of the violations posed a risk of serious environmental harm, and have not yet been corrected despite numerous requests from DEQ, the order says.
Company owner Donald Duddles said he didn’t correct the violations because he also was dealing with complaints from the city of Salem about the number of cars on the property.
“I stepped off onto the city stuff and forgot about keeping in touch with the state,” he said. “I have a head injury. Sometimes I get stuck in the here and now.”
Dudley has appealed the fine. No hearing has yet been scheduled, DEQ spokesperson Lauren Wirtis said.
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DEQ inspectors visited the facility, at 3750 Mainline Drive NE, on July 13, 2020.
They found as much as 13,228 pounds of accumulated hazardous waste stored at the facility.
The waste was in both labeled and unlabeled containers, none of which were marked as hazardous waste, and none of which were dated.
Inspectors also found at least 50 improperly stored waste lead-acid batteries, 10 improperly stored mercury-containing switches removed from vehicles, two unlabeled 55-gallon drums full of oil stored outside, and a used oil filter draining oil into the ground.
They also found about 4,000 unusable tires in piles at the facility. The company does not have a waste tire storage permit.
The company does not have permits to store, treat or dispose of hazardous waste, had never trained employees in hazardous waste requirements, and had no records of conducting required weekly inspections of hazardous waste storage areas.
The company also operates an oil/water separator, which discharges to Claggett Creek. The company does not have a required permit for the discharge.
The fines were among 15 the department levied during August, totaling $357,954. Other fines were:
For underground storage tank violations:
Tracy Loew is a reporter at the Statesman Journal. She can be reached at tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or on Twitter at @Tracy_Loew. Support local journalism by subscribing to the Statesman Journal.