CONCORD, N.H. (Legal Newsline) - A state judge on Monday approved New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly Ayotte's settlement with a lighting equipment company that she says dumped more than 15,000 pounds of hazardous waste into a landfill.

The settlement will force Luminescent Systems of Lebanon to pay a possible $90,000 in civil penalties, with a $50,000 payment going to the state's Hazardous Waste Cleanup Fund. For contractor costs for the construction of a hazardous materials storage facility in Lebanon, the company is paying up to $40,000.

"This office will continue to actively enforce violations of the state's hazardous waste management laws, which serve to protect the public's health and the environment," Ayotte said.

"This settlement illustrates that businesses need to pay close attention to these environmental laws and to properly identity and dispose of their hazardous waste."

Ayotte alleged the company should have classified waste paint filters and wipers being sent to Lebanon's landfill as hazardous waste because of the presence of chromium.

She said the company did not conduct any chemical analyses on the wastes and improperly dumped them in the landfill for 15 years.

Her suit was filed July 3 in Grafton County Superior Court.

A copy of the consent decree and complaint can be found here.

From Legal Newsline: Reach John O'Brien by e-mail at john@legalnewsline.com.