Top 10 Hazardous Waste Violations In Texas

Hazardous Waste Fines and Penalties Will Follow If Your Company Fails To Keep Up

Here are the top 10 hazardous waste violations impacting Texas manufacturers which can result in major fines, penalties & disruptions:

Failure to determine the company’s waste generator status (CESQ, SQG, LQG)
Failure to create Waste Determinations to identify & characterize all waste streams
Failure to properly label waste containers
Failure to train employees on DOT hazardous materials shipping requirements
Failure to create a Contingency Plan and Emergency Response Procedures
Failure to conduct weekly inspections
Failure to develop a Pollution Prevention Plan (aka “P2 Plan”)
Failure to train employees on EPA & TCEQ waste regulations
Disposing of hazardous waste into dumpsters
Dumping hazardous waste down the drain

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has a long list of RCRA regulations that Texas companies must follow, but of course this is much easier said than done, especially for small companies who often lack the expertise, time and resources needed to keep up.

Below is a summary description of each of these RCRA violations and links to blog posts which go into more detail on each waste violation:

The #1 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to determine your waste generator status (CESQ, SQG or LQG).

Summary: EPA and TCEQ requires ALL Texas manufacturers who generate industrial and hazardous wast to track the quantity Class 1 and Hazardous waste that they generate each month in order to determine their generator status. Generator status will then determine which additional industrial and hazardous waste regulations apply.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to determine generator status leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the possibility of hazardous wastes being mismanaged at your company.

Learn How to Determine Your Waste Generator Status Here

The #2 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to create & document “Waste Determinations” for all of your industrial wastes.

Summary: TCEQ requires ALL Texas manufacturers, regardless of generator status, to identify and characterize all of their industrial wastes using TCEQ’s “Waste Determination” process. This includes all of your waste streams from hazardous process chemicals, to recycled materials, to the plant trash in your dumpsters.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to create Waste Determinations leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the possibility of hazardous wastes being illegally disposed of at your company.

Learn How To Create Waste Determinations Here

The #3 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to properly label all of your industrial waste containers.

Summary: EPA & DOT requires ALL Texas manufacturers, regardless of generator status, to properly label all of their waste containers. Depending on the type of waste, typical label requirements include the name of the waste, company name, EPA codes, generation start date, etc.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to properly label all waste containers leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the possibility of hazardous wastes being mismanaged at your company.

Learn How To Properly Label Waste Containers Here

The #4 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to train employees on DOT hazardous materials requirements.

Summary: DOT requires ALL Texas manufacturers, regardless of generator status, to properly train applicable employees on hazardous materials shipping requirements in order to sign waste shipping documents (typically a Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest) that contain hazardous wastes.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to properly train employees on hazardous materials shipping requirements leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the possibility of hazardous wastes being mismanaged at your company.

Learn About DOT Hazardous Materials Training Requirements Here

The #5 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to develop and implement Contingency Plans and Emergency Procedures.

Summary: TCEQ requires SQG & LQG Texas manufacturers to develop and implment these plans. While SQGs only need to have these plans and procedures in place, LQGs must actually develop a “Written Contingency Plan.” These plan and procedure requirements are extensive and must be customized to your actual facility’s requirements.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to develop these plans and procedures leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the risk of significant liabilities if related emergencies occur at your company.

Learn About Contingency & Emergency Procedure Requirements Here

The #6 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to conduct weekly inspections of waste container storage areas.

Summary: TCEQ requires SQG & LQG Texas manufacturers to conduct weekly inspections of their waste storage areas. These weekly inspections should include evaluating waste containers for overall condition, labeling, leaks, corrosion, and more.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to conduct and document weekly waste area inspections leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the risk of storing or shipping non-compliant waste containers.

Learn About Weekly Waste Storage Inspection Requirements Here

The #7 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to develop and implement Source Reduction & Waste Minimization plans (aka: Pollution Prevention or”P2 Plan”).

Summary: TCEQ requires SQG & LQG Texas manufacturers to develop these formal 5 year plans designed to identify and implement waste reduction opportunities, and the plans must be updated every successive 5 years.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to develop and implement P2 plans leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the risk of environmental damage, contamination and pollution in your community and state.

Learn About Pollution Prevention Plan Requirements Here

The #8 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Failure to train employees on EPA & TCEQ waste regulations

Summary: EPA and TCEQ requires SQG & LQG Texas manufacturers to train employees on RCRA industrial and hazardous waste classification & management requirements

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Failure to train your employees on EPA and TCEQ RCRA laws leaves your company at risk for major fines and penalties if you get inspected and increases the risk of environmental damage due to failing to properly manage hazardous waste.

Learn About Hazardous Waste Training Requirements Here

The #9 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Dumping hazardous waste into dumpsters

Summary: EPA and TCEQ requires all hazardous waste generators, regardless of generator status, to identify and properly characterize all hazardous waste streams and dispose of each properly, however many companies fail to do this and end up illegally disposing of these wastes into plant trash dumpsters.

Associated Risks & Liabilities: Illegally dumping hazardous wastes into plant trash dumpsters can result in major EPA and TCEQ fines and penalties, serious environmental damage and accountability for cleanup costs that could run into the $millions.

More Details: Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for employees of companies without a hazardous waste management program, to illegally dum hazardous waste into their “plant trash” dumpsters. Normally it’s not done on purpose, but instead employees simply aren’t aware that it’s illegal. In other words, if the company isn’t carefully managing these issues and properly training its employees, then this can easily happen. This can include paints, chemicals, medical waste and more, all of which can lead to major problems for the company.

The #10 Hazardous Waste Violation in Texas: Dumping hazardous and industrial waste down the drain

More Details: Unfortunately it’s not uncommon for employees of companies without a hazardous waste management program, to illegally dum hazardous waste down the drain. Normally it’s not done on purpose, but instead employees simply aren’t aware that it’s illegal. In other words, if the company isn’t carefully managing these issues and properly training its employees, then this can easily happen. This can include untreated waste water, chemicals and more, all of which can lead to major problems for the company.

Berg has been helping Texas companies manage hazardous waste for over 18 years and counting. Our company is very unique because we offer turn-key hazardous waste disposal and hazardous waste compliance consulting services.

By Russell Carr|2024-08-11T18:25:27-05:00August 2nd, 2021|Berg Environmental News, Government Regulation, Hazardous Waste Management, OSHA Health & Safety, Texas Environmental Regulations, Texas Hazardous Materials Regulations|Comments Off

About the Author: Russell Carr

How A Sales Guy Transformed Into An Environmental, Health & Safety Expert & Advocate For Small Businesses I've spent my entire 30+ year career working within the manufacturing and “industrial services” sectors. The first 15 years of my career focused on sales of hazardous materials related products and services to the manufacturing sector, then for the last 16+ years transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding 3 small industrial services related contracting businesses. As you’ll see below, running these companies eventually lead me to found yet a 4th business, but more on that in a minute…. Here’s a brief description of the first 3 companies: Berg Environmental Services, Inc.: hazardous waste disposal & transportation services, founded in August of 2003 3rd party wind energy operations & maintenance services provider to utility scale wind farms throughout the US, founded in September 2007 3rd party oil & gas exploration & production services provider, founded in August of 2011 Each of these companies operated in extremely dangerous working conditions and exposed my employees to a wide range of serious health & safety hazards on a daily basis. To complicate matters, 2 of the companies also exposed the environment to significant potential harm. In other words, I learned very early the critical importance of managing environmental, health and safety issues so as to ensure the safety of our employees and the environment, as well as minimizing related risks. But I also learned how incredibly difficult and challenging this endeavor can be due to the wide range of complicated and continually changing environmental, health and safety rules and regulations that impacted the companies. To summarize the challenges: First I had to determine which regulations applied to each company, then I had to build compliance programs to meet those regulations, and finally I had to ensure that the programs were being managed and followed by our staff on a daily basis. All while trying to run and grow 3 profitable businesses…. It was overwhelming and I always struggled to keep up. To make matters worse, throughout this time I also witnessed the devastating price that companies, management and ownership can pay for failing to manage EHS compliance. This included seeing one of my hazardous waste management clients get sent to jail over environmental issues, another client’s management team threatened with jail time, a direct competitor get fined $378,000 by OSHA fine after an employee was nearly killed, and many others face major fines and penalties. Full disclosure, one of my companies got fined by OSHA at one point, & another was cited by TCEQ, so I know how it feels. In summary, I learned first hand how incredibly difficult it is for small companies to manage EHS compliance due to a common lack of the critical expertise, time and resources that are needed to keep up, and how this situation then ends up exposing them to these potentially catastrophic risks that can literally destroy lives and businesses. This later inspired me to found my 4th company, Berg Compliance Solutions in 2012, which is dedicated to helping other small businesses, and business owners, to manage EHS compliance and risk. Education BA, Philosophy, University of Colorado, Boulder, December, 1990. Summary of Professional Experience & Qualifications: 30+ years serving the manufacturing & industrial services sectors 30+ years of sales and marketing experience 16+ years as small business owner & entrepreneur: Founded and operated 4 small businesses since 2003. Environmental, Health & Safety Compliance & Program Related: 19 plus years of hazardous waste management including EPA, TCEQ & RCRA regulations 8 years of DOT/FMCSA compliance experience, including hazardous materials transportation 8 years of combined experience implementing and managing OSHA health and safety compliance programs for 2 high risk energy services businesses Successfully implemented and gained ISO 9001 Quality Management Certification and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety Advisory Service) Certification for wind energy maintenance business. Regulatory Enforcement Related Experience: Served as expert witness in criminal environmental compliance enforcement cases Superfund-CERCLA OSHA enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in following industries: industrial services, manufacturing & construction. TCEQ enforcement inspections, investigations and resolution in manufacturing.