Friday, February 13, 2015

INDUSTRIAL STEEL TREATING CO. OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN TO PAY $65,000 IN FINES AND CLEANUP COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH A MAY 2014 800-GALLON OIL SPILL IN THE GRAND RIVER









FEBRUARY 12, 2015




JACKSON, MICHIGAN 




In addition to paying roughly $65,000 in fines and cleanup costs associated with a May 2014 oil spill in the Grand River, a Jackson company is working to make sure a similar accident doesn't happen again, state officials said.




About 800 gallons of liquid including motor oil and hydraulic fluid were cleaned from the Grand River over the course of two days in May. The source of the spill was later traced back to Industrial Steel Treating Co., 613 Carroll Ave.




An investigation concluded the incident was accidental and the company did not incur penalties from the city. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality wasn't as lenient.




The company was required to pay a $5,000 fine and "improve their procedures," said DEQ spokesman Jeff Surfus.




"They have strengthened their work approval requirements and inspection schedules," he said. "In addition ... they are replacing some of the old coolers and placing them indoors and adding spill containment around the outdoor coolers that remain."




City officials said their investigation found that company employees were performing maintenance work on coolers outside their building Friday, May 16. The employees didn't put the cooler back together properly and the oil and hydraulic fluid leaked out.




Company employees did not realize the oil had traveled across the sidewalk before running into a catch basin until they heard about oil being discovered in the Grand River.




The company was required to pay for all of the costs associated with the cleanup efforts, which came to about $60,000, said Todd Knepper, Jackson Department of Public Works Director.




"It was quite a bit more than we originally anticipated," he said.




City officials originally estimated the cleanup costs would come to $20,000.  Of course most of the time they do not know the cost, unless and until a plume delineation is performed and/or actual quotes are obtained from cleanup contractors.