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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Environment Department has fined Advanced Chemical Treatment Inc. $360,285 as part of a settlement to resolve violations identified during a May 2019 inspection by the Hazardous Waste Bureau at a facility in Albuquerque.

The facility, at 6137 Edith Boulevard NE., stores hazardous wastes until proper disposal at a permitted facility outside of New Mexico is arranged.

“The New Mexico Environment Department requires facilities to maintain continuous compliance with federal and state regulations – especially when managing hazardous wastes,” NMED Secretary James Kenney said in a prepared statement. “We will not hesitate to robustly enforce laws for the protection of public health and the environment.”

Company violations that included improper storage of used oil, failure to respond to a release of used oil into the environment and storage of hazardous waste for

longer than allowed in the permit, the department said in a news release.

Advanced Chemical Treatment Inc., has since corrected the alleged violations.

Money from the civil penalty goes into the state’s Hazardous Waste Emergency Fund, most often used for cleaning up incidents involving hazardous substances and the disposal of hazardous substances.