19 February 2014, News Wires – Environmental regulators in Pennsylvania have slapped Houston-based Halliburton with a $1.8 million fine for hundreds of violations over 12 years of a solid-waste disposal law.
The US state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) said Halliburton had on 255 occasions run afoul of the Solid Waste Management Act between 1999 and 2011 by not obtaining the proper permits to store, treat and transport hydrochloric acid at the company’s Homer City facility in Indiana County.
DEP became aware of the violations in 2011 during an inspection of the facility. It called Halliburton’s disregard of the regulations “unacceptable”.
Halliburton transported acidic waste, which had originated from various gas well sites, without identifying the waste as “hazardous”, without proper hazardous waste trucking records and without using a licensed hazardous waste transporter, DEP said.
The company also sent the waste to an unauthorised treatment and disposal operation, DEP added.
“While there is no evidence that Halliburton’s handling of the hazardous waste caused any actual harm to the public or the environment, Halliburton violated state regulations governing the handling, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous waste on hundreds of occasions,” DEP said.
Halliburton will not appeal the ruling and said it is working with DEP in an ongoing effort to ensure the safe development of natural resources.
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