On August 26, 2014, NMED referred a matter to the EPA, Region 6 for further investigation and enforcement. After several discussions with NMED, EPA Region 6 began its own investigation of Whole Foods, which ran the period of August 2014 through August 2015. During this period, EPA conducted a RCRA investigation and record review of Whole Foods? activities as a generator of hazardous waste in Region 6, issued an RCRA information request dated August 18, 2015, and on November 24, 2015, Whole Foods provided EPA with a response to the RCRA 3007 information request. The summation of the investigation by Region 6 formed the predicate for this enforcement action.
The settlement is structured in five (5) CAFOs, each reflecting respective locations in each Region 6 state. The settlement addresses two (2) main RCRA violations at several facilities across the five states in Region 6, which are failure to: (1) make adequate hazardous waste determinations on several waste streams; and (2) comply with the universal waste requirements. In addition to the injunctive relief and penalty set forth in each CAFO, Respondent has also agreed to perform an environmental SEP valued at $500,000. This SEP will be performed across all facilities in the state of Texas and will consist of financing, developing, and hosting a series of compliance promotion activities through several different media. The objective of the SEP is to educate the retail industry, particularly smaller retailers, in the s