Attorney General Mark Herring and the Virginia DEQ today announced a settlement has been reached with Rubbermaid over violations of the Virginia Air Pollution Control Law and the applicable permits and regulations.
As part of the settlement, Rubbermaid will pay $184,500 in civil penalties for past violations and will be subject to stipulated penalties should it commit violations in the future.
“Rubbermaid knowingly and blatantly constructed and operated these machines without the proper permits, even after they had been notified by DEQ multiple times of their violations,” said Herring. “Machines like these can have serious negative impacts on the air and the environment around them if they are not properly permitted and regulated. I hope this sends a message to other similar companies that Virginia will not tolerate the unpermitted construction and operation of machines that could potentially harm the environment.”
“DEQ ensures that regulated facilities in Virginia adhere to regulations, which is why we notified the Office of the Attorney General about these repeated violations,” said DEQ Director David Paylor. “Regulations are established to protect the environment and the public health and we expect all facilities to comply in order to protect our communities.”
Between February 2016 and July 2018, Rubbermaid failed to get permits prior to installing and operating machines including a bake-off oven, powder coating equipment and a laser cutter.
During this time, DEQ issued multiple warnings and two Notices of Violation to the company, but Rubbermaid continued to operate unpermitted equipment even while it was in middle of the permitting process. Additionally, Rubbermaid misled DEQ about the machines they were operating and the timeline in which the machines were installed and in use.
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