Pike Industries fined $100K for improper hazardous waste management

Belmont-based Pike Industries will pay a $100,000 fine for 15 hazardous waste management violations at their Portsmouth facility, according to a statement from the state Sept. 9, through a settlement with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.

The decree, formally entered in Rockingham Superior Court, states Pike Industries Inc. must pay their fine and comply with state hazardous waste management requirements. If Pike has no further law violations, $15,000 of that $100,000 is suspended for two years.

“New Hampshire has clear requirements for how hazardous waste must be managed, tracked, stored, and disposed of, and companies are expected to follow them,” said NH Attorney General John Formella in the press release. “This resolution holds Pike Industries accountable and requires the company to operate its facilities in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. These requirements are in place to ensure hazardous waste is properly managed and to protect New Hampshire’s residents and our environment.”

The Lakes Region company was sued by the state Department of Environmental Services based on a May 26, 2022, compliance inspection yielding multiple failures. During the inspection, the company, which specializes in “aggregate production, asphalt grinding, reclamation, and a heavy highway division that handles earthwork, pipe installation, and site work,” failed to meet the following requirements as required by state law:

1. Have an onsite certified hazardous waste coordinator
2. Notify DES of changes in regulated activities
3. Conduct and properly document required weekly inspections of the central accumulation area
4. Provide initial and annual hazardous waste trainings
5. Maintain copies of hazardous waste training records
6. Have a complete contingency plan
7. Post accurate emergency contact information
8. Label container with correct EPA hazardous waste number
9. Maintain copies of certified manifests
10. Maintain copies of quarterly activity reports
11. Certify quarterly activity reports
12. Properly label used oil containers
13. Label universal waste lamp containers
14. Close universal waste lamp containers
15. Demonstrate universal waste had not been stored onsite for more than a year, and demonstrate universal waste accumulation time

“Pike must continue to comply with all applicable New Hampshire hazardous waste management requirements, including to maintain required emergency planning and contact information and to properly maintain hazardous waste manifests and quarterly activity reports,” states the release.

The state’s compliance evaluation inspection showed a severely disorderly, or completely nonexistent, record-keeping at five locations. Each violation itself was made up of dozens of infractions. The lack of posted, up-to-date key personnel highlighted safety infringements, and the lack of a hazardous waste coordinator meant there was often no one responsible onsite, and for years at a time.

“Department records indicate that between November 13, 2020 and September 1, 2022 and again between September 1, 2023 and February 7, 2024, Respondent did not have a certified hazardous waste coordinator at its Portsmouth facility,” according to court documents.

As a result, on 19 occasions, a handful of staff members in Portsmouth failed to be appropriately recertified or trained. Thirty-seven of 52 weekly storage inspections at the central accumulation area — a designated onsite location where a facility temporarily stores and consolidates hazardous waste before shipping it offsite for disposal or treatment — were missed, marking a 29% completion rate.

On 37 occasions, the company failed to specify the inspector’s name and time of inspection as required. Emergency coordinators were listed in a contingency plan posted onsite, but the staff members were no longer employed by Pike, or moved to a different location. The contingency plan also failed to denote a plan with emergency authorities.

According to court documents, “Respondent’s contingency plan did not contain accurate, up-to-date information regarding emergency coordinators for the facility as required, did not include a description of the arrangements with the appropriate emergency response authorities as required, and failed to include a brief description of each item of emergency equipment’s capabilities.”

Quarterly report violations and the improper listing of emergency phone numbers — including the State Police Portsmouth branch — was another item of note.

“During the May 26, 2022 Inspection, the Department identified that the telephone closest to the Portsmouth Facility’s central accumulation area listed a primary emergency coordinator and two alternate emergency coordinators who were no longer employed by Pike. The Department also identified that the telephone number for N.H. State Police was incorrect.”

Finally, there were two instances of improperly stored and labeled hazardous waste materials, like fluorescent lights and spent oil.

“During the May 26, 2022 Inspection, the Department observed one open and unmarked 8-foot container of spent fluorescent lamps and a second open and unmarked 8-foot PVC tube containing spent fluorescent lamps. Accordingly, Respondent violated N.H. Admin. R. Env-Hw 1102.03(a)(4) and 1112.04 by failing to mark the universal waste lamp containers with the required labels.”

The company uses solvents, in this case Excel Clean HD, which is non-toxic and biodegradable. Its issue is its flashpoint, or point of ignition, which is only 125 degrees. No documents allege misuse of Excel Clean HD.

“Pike Industries Inc. was established in 1872 and developed through five generations of family leadership. After a small — but determined — beginning, the company has evolved into one of the largest asphalt and aggregate materials producers in New England,” according to its website.

The Portsmouth facility has been a hazardous waste generator since February 1997, and became a notified full quantity generator of hazardous waste in January 2008.

The Portsmouth location was one of five New Hampshire hazardous waste collection sites owned by Pike Industries with violations, including a location on Industrial Drive in Northfield.

The case was handled jointly by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services’ Hazardous Waste Management Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau of the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office.

Pike Industries Inc. did not respond to a request for comment.

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Katlyn Proctor can be reached at katlyn@laconiadailysun.com or by calling 603-524-0150.