Ohio AG announces $1.05 million judgment against Cleveland business

CLEVELAND (Legal Newsline) - Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency announced a $1.05 million judgment Friday against a Cleveland business and its affiliates for alleged air pollution and hazardous waste violations.

A Cuyahoga County judge ordered Gray Container LLC, L Gray Barrel & Drum Co., Lomack Drum Co., Lomack Drum & Container Co. Inc., Lomack Gray and Kenneth Gray to pay $1.05 million to resolve allegations of pollution violations caused by chemical drum reconditioning work. Gray Container LLC is located within half a block of a park, a church and multiple residences.

"This judgment shows that violating Ohio's environmental laws is serious and won't go unpunished," DeWine said. "We will continue to work with the Ohio EPA to pursue violators and help protect the health and safety of Ohio families."

In 2009, DeWine's office filed a lawsuit against Gray Container, its affiliates and its principals for allegedly allowing improperly controlled emissions from an incinerator to be discharged into open air, unlawfully storing and disposing of hazardous waste and operating a hazardous waste facility without a permit. Kenneth Gray and two of his companies were found guilty in 2009 of criminal violations of the state's hazardous waste laws.

The judgment requires the defendants to conduct an evaluation of all wastes at the drum reconditioning facility, remove all hazardous wastes and implement an Ohio EPA closure plan for all facility areas where hazardous wastes were treated, disposed or stored. The defendants must also pay an $863,200 civil penalty for hazardous waste violations and a $187,100 civil penalty for air pollution violations.