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. The facility is required to pay a penalty of $509,850 and to establish compliance with the regulation.