EGLE Issues Violations to Tribar Manufacturing for Huron River Hexavalent Chromium Spill

The Wixom company responsible for a chemical release that threatened the Huron River system was served with multiple violation notices from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy or EGLE.

EGLE’s Water Resources Division has issued violations to Tribar Manufacturing and initiated accelerated enforcement related to issues involving the unauthorized release of a plating solution containing hexavalent chromium the weekend of July 29th.

EGLE’s Air Quality Division issued separate notices related to a July 21st inspection – prior to and not directly related to the release.

Tribar was cited for the following violations:

-Failing to immediately notify EGLE immediately after discovering the discharge as required under the law and their industrial user discharge permit.

-Sending an unauthorized discharge of pollutants to the wastewater treatment facility that resulted in interference to the treatment process, violating pretreatment rules in the Michigan Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (NREPA).

-Failure to maintain a properly updated Pollution Incident Prevention Plan (PIPP) and failing to certify compliance with NREPA rules regarding spillage of oil and polluting materials.

EGLE’s WRD has given the company until August 20th to respond in writing to the violation notices – including responses to a series of questions designed to determine exactly what happened, and when, that led up to the release.

The state says “repeated requests by EGLE investigators for this critical information have not been adequately addressed by Tribar.”

Due to the seriousness of the violations, EGLE has initiated accelerated enforcement – which will initiate an administrative consent order process and seek full cost recovery from Tribar.

The AQD violations, which are attached, include:

-Metal treatment tanks not being properly controlled, which may have allowed unauthorized emissions of nickel and total chrome.

-Failure to keep proper records that would document compliance with air permit conditions for various processes.

The state says the AQD notices include multiple instances of records not being kept as required in the company’s air permits. Because records were not kept as required, the company could not show compliance with several pollutants, including volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, how much of certain chemicals were used in certain time frames, and the information to show control equipment on the coating line was operating properly.

The notices also include violations for not properly operating equipment to minimize and control emissions of nickel and total chrome.

The company has until August 30th to submit explanations of how the violations occurred and what actions are being taken to resolve them.

EGLE, through its Environmental Investigation Section, continues to probe the circumstance surrounding the release. The EIS has both civil and criminal authority over violations of environmental and public health laws.