Arizona Republic

June 21st, 2007

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Recycler given cold shoulder by tribal council

By Betty Beard

A company on the Gila River Reservation that claims to be the only place in the state where companies can recycle common liquid wastes may have to shut down its processing services, forcing 800 customers to send their wastes out of state.

The Gila River Indian Community's council voted unanimously and without comment Wednesday not to approve a permanent permit for Romic Environmental Technologies Corp., which has been operating on the reservation with an interim permit since 1988.

Romic officials said that without the Gila River council's approval, it is unlikely that the federal Environmental Protection Agency would give them a permanent permit, at least to process wastes. They said that they could probably continue as a transfer station.

Just as the company began seeking Gila River approval in April, a brief flash fire broke out at the plant, just south of Chandler, that resulted in EPA fines. The company also had another accident in November that led to a putrid smell that was noticeable at neighboring businesses. In 2005, Romic was fined by EPA for violations found during inspections in 2002 and 2003.

In May, the Gila River council unanimously enacted a moratorium against establishing or permitting any permanent facility that accepts hazardous wastes on the reservation.

The Gila River council also refused on Wednesday to let Romic give a scheduled presentation on what it does, even though company president Namki Yi had flown in from California. Romic has almost 60 employees on the reservation and is owned by a New York City investment firm, Three Cities Research Inc.

Romic plans to continue operating, as it has a lease through 2021 and can process wastes on the interim permit until it is told otherwise, said Chris Stampolis, Romic's director of community education and government relations. "Romic will continue to develop ongoing relations with community leaders," he said. "Romic can continue to stay in operation and maintain a positive community presence."

Environmentalists, who have been lobbying against the company, were delighted at the council rejection. Lori Riddle, 40, a co-founder of the Gila River Alliance for Clean Environment, said businesses have been using the reservation as a dumping ground for decades.

She said her group helped shut down another reservation company that burned medical wastes in 2000.

Yi said employees are trained to keep records and to follow procedures so accidents don't happen and materials end up where they are supposed to. But errors happen, he acknowledged.

In April, a sample test showed that a substance could be recycled. But in production the result was a putrid smell that workers at nearby plants described as like "wet fish." Operations shut down and the EPA determined no toxic substances were released.

In November, someone mistakenly poured hydrogen peroxide into a tank where acid had been stored, and a flash fire resulted. It was put out immediately and the sprinklers never went off. Romic was fined more than $32,000 for failing to report the incident and other violations.

Yi said "personnel changes" resulted from those incidents.

Yi said Romic provides a public service because it processes about 300,000 gallons of solvents a month that come from a variety of companies. The material is reclaimed, recycled and even blended into alternative fuels that can substitute for natural gas.