Sandy Springs-based UPS will pay a $5.3 million penalty for alleged hazardous waste violations at more than a thousand U.S. locations in a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The consent agreement with the EPA gives UPS three years to come into compliance at 1,160 locations across 45 states and Puerto Rico, along with the civil penalty. The EPA says UPS generates hazardous waste when a package with certain hazardous materials is damaged, and during maintenance operations.
“This settlement is another example of EPA’s commitment to protecting communities from the dangers of hazardous waste,” said Larry Starfield, EPA’s Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, in a written statement.
The agreement comes after an EPA settlement last year with UPS and its former freight unit, which came with a $3.8 million penalty for alleged hazardous waste violations in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas.
The EPA says it then expanded its investigation to other UPS facilities around the country. The agency said it determined that from 2018 on, the additional facilities generated and managed hazardous waste, including ignitable, corrosive and reactive substances, without complying with all requirements.
UPS has agreed to use “enhanced programs” at its facilities nationwide to come into compliance, including notifications, employee training, hazardous waste reporting, proper management of hazardous waste and other measures. In the settlement, UPS did not admit or deny the specific factual allegations or alleged violations.
“We have long-standing procedures in place for handling hazardous waste and are taking additional steps to further enhance our practices,” a UPS spokesperson said in a written statement. “We will continue to work with agencies and authorities around the world to ensure the safety of our network and the well-being of our employees and the customers and communities we serve.”
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