Document 15091Ka9vkMQgDBE4x6oVkLGq

REDACTED Region 6 - Enforcement & Compliance Assurance Division COMPLIANCE EVALUATION INSPECTION REPORT Inspection Date(s): Media Program: Regulatory Program(s) December 11, 2024 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Very Small Quantity Generator Company Name: Facility Name: Facility Physical Location: (City, State, Zip Code) Mailing address: (City, State, Zip Code) County/Parish: Facility Phone Number Facility Contact: W Silver Recycling, Inc. W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa 5025 Avenida Creel Santa Teresa, New Mexico 88008 5025 Avenida Creel Santa Teresa, New Mexico 88008 Doa Ana County 915-532-5643 Eddie Abasta eddie.abasta@wsilverrecycling.com Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Manager FRS Number: Identification/Permit Number: Media Identifier Number: NAICS: SIC: 110070504250 (although it gives the address of 5024 AVENIDA CREEL) N/A RCRA ID: NMR000031880 42393 RECYCLABLE MATERIAL MERCHANT WHOLESALERS 5093 - Scrap and Waste Materials Personnel participating in inspection: Dedriel Gardner USEPA Region 6 (ECDSR) Eddie Abasta W Silver Recycling, Inc. Shawn Schevling W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Gustavo Rocha W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Senior Environmental Engineer Inspector Environmental, Health & Safety (EHS) Manager Lead of Material Processing Area Maintenance Supervisor EPA Lead Inspector Signature/Date DEDRIEL GARDNER Date: 2025.01.23 07:59:21 -06'00' Digitally signed by DEDRIEL GARDNER Dedriel Gardner - Senior Environmental Engineer - Inspector (ECDSR) Date Supervisor Signature/Date DEBRA PANDAK Date: 2025.01.24 15:13:31 -06'00' Digitally signed by DEBRA PANDAK Debra Pandak - Section Supervisor (ECDSR) Date 6ENFORM-019-R8.2 (02/12/2020) 1 Section I - INTRODUCTION W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 PURPOSE OF THE INSPECTION On December 11, 2024, I, Dedriel Gardner, conducted an unannounced compliance evaluation inspection of the W Silver Recycling, Inc. (WSR) facility located at 5025 Avenida Creel in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The inspection was conducted to determine compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The inspection focused on evaluating the facility's processing and management of scrap metal to ensure that it meets the requirements for exemption from the definition of solid waste and does not pose a risk of harm to human health and the environment. The inspection included a facility description, waste stream discussions, and walkthroughs of the facility's hazardous waste generation and management units. This facility was targeted as a result of citizen concerns regarding fires at this facility's other location in El Paso, Texas. OPENING CONFERENCE On December 11, 2024, I arrived at the facility at about 8:20 A.M Mountain Time (MT) and met Mr. Eddie Abasta, EHS Manager. I presented my credentials to him and informed him that I was there to conduct an inspection of the facility under the authority of Section 3007 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. We discussed the purpose and scope of the inspection. Mr. Abasta stated that he was in the process of having a contractor conduct auditory monitoring throughout the facility and test employees hearing at this and other WSR facilities for the rest of this week. He stated it was their policy that inspectors only talk to him. Therefore, we worked it out that he would step away throughout the inspection and handle the contractor as needed. I notified Mr. Abasta of the facility's right to assert a claim for Confidential Business Information (CBI) for records collected during this inspection. Section II - OBSERVATIONS Following the opening conference, I accompanied Mr. Abasta on a walk-through with the contractor to place the auditory monitors throughout the Warehouse area. After this initial walk through and Mr. Abasta's return from working with the contractor, he provided a facility and waste stream description. Mr. Abasta and I then began our walk and drive through of this large facility site. Also, 63 photos were taken during the inspection to document onsite observations (see Appendix 1). A map of all photograph locations and directions taken is included in Appendix 3. Unless otherwise specified, the statements cited in this report reflect those claims made by Mr. Abasta or documents reviewed during the inspection. I conducted the onsite inspection during business hours on December 11, 2024. During the inspection, the facility was conducting normal operations in addition to the audio contractor being onsite to conduct auditory monitoring and test employees hearing. This section provides an abbreviated description of my onsite activities. See Appendix 2 for the Daily Summary that provides more detail and was sent to Mr. Abasta for review. FACILITY DESCRIPTION WSR is a recycling facility that processes various types of scrap metal. Their headquarters are located at 601 N. Mesa St, STE. 1500, El Paso, Texas, 79901. WSR has various facilities located in the southwest 2 W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 United States and in Mexico. This WSR facility has about 99 employees that work 8-hour days, five days per week. They may also work on Saturdays as needed. WSR relocated to this facility location from their Magoffin facility in El Paso, Texas, about two years ago. Mr. Abasta believes WSR owns this facility and the land. He did not know the size of the facility but provided facility layouts of the site and Warehouse that are included in Appendix 3. Also, an aerial photo from the internet is included in Appendix 3. Appendix 1, photograph 1 provides an overall northwest view of the facility that is completely fenced. 1. 3 W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 i. 4 W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 WASTE STREAMS WSR is a non-notifier of hazardous waste activities and a used oil generator. Mr. Abasta stated that they do not manage any wastes generated onsite or ship any off-site as hazardous or universal wastes. He stated that they have hired a consultant to make their hazardous waste determinations and decide how WSR should manage their wastes. WSR generates the following waste streams of which the details are discussed in the Appendix 4, Waste Table: 1. 5 W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 VISUAL INSPECTION Observations from the walk through of the Warehouse and during a drive-through of this large facility are documented below. Potential areas of concern I observed are identified with AOC #. 1. In the Warehouse I observed the processing and scrap metal storage areas. a. 2. In the Maintenance Shop area, Mr. Abasta stated that none of the employees in the area at the time could answer questions on waste management as they did not know. a. 3. a. In the Yard on Northwest side of the Facility - I 6 W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 of materials received onsite including the follow up information needing to be verified, documentation demonstrating the end use of each type of processed material, list of items destroyed onsite for customers and related shipping documents, safety data sheets, and waste profiles and related shipping documents. Section III - CLOSING CONFERENCE I held a closing conference with Mr. Abasta to include a review of the inspection follow up items and areas of concern. I provided Mr. Abasta a Small Business Resources fact sheet and a CBI Notice and Form which he stated he would review and complete later. He claimed all process information and photos as CBI. I discussed WSR using the same EPA electronic secure online drive set up for the December 9, 2024, WSR El Paso facility inspection to upload documents after this inspection. I left the facility at about 3:10 P.M. MT. AREAS OF CONCERN (AOC) 1. According to 40 CFR 262.11, a generator must make an accurate hazardous waste determination at the point of waste generation, before any dilution, mixing, or other alteration of the waste occurs, and at any time in the course of its management that it has, or may have, changed its properties as a result of exposure to the environment or other factors that may change the properties of the waste such that the RCRA classification of the waste may change an accurate hazardous waste determination on each solid waste at the point of generation. The following waste streams failed to have a hazardous waste determination: a. AOC #1a - for each individual waste stream. b. AOC #1b - for each individual waste stream. c. AOC #1c - from maintenance shop area. d. AOC #1d - . e. AOC #1e - . f. AOC #1f - In the Yard on Northwest Side of the Facility - Two g. AOC #1g - In the Bone Yard on West Side of the Facility - In one of the trailers, gaylord boxes that it was not clear if they were empty as they were not accessible to see inside. h. AOC #1h - In the Bone Yard on West Side of the Facility - i. AOC #1i - On the Northeast Side of the Facility - j. AOC #1j - On the Southwest Outside Area of the Warehouse - 2. AOC #2 - According to 40 CFR 279.22(c), used oil tanks and containers must be labeled "Used Oil". 3. AOC #3 - According to 40 CFR 279.22(d), used oil releases must be contained, and cleaned up. 4. Also, as a part of its normal operations, According to RCRA Online document # 11771, even though hazardous scrap metal is exempt from RCRA regulations, if management 8 W Silver Recycling, Inc. - Santa Teresa Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 (e.g., storage on the ground) causes hazardous constituents to be released into the soil, surface water, or air, this may be considered abandonment through disposal and trigger the RCRA regulations. FOLLOW-UP As stated in the Records Review section above, I requested the records listed in the Daily Summary along with the additional request regarding the drums labeled as Hazardous Waste I sent on December 18, 2024. I requested a response by the end of the next week (December 20, 2024) and made Mr. Abasta aware that extensions are available if needed. He stated that he would be requesting an extension. I informed him that in the shared electronic folder, I will provide a copy of each photograph taken during the inspection. Section IV - LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 - Photo Log (see Appendix 3 for Photo Locations and Directions) Appendix 2 - Daily Summary of 12/11/24 Appendix 3 - Facility Layout with Photo Locations and Aerial Photo Appendix 4 - Waste Table 9 W Silver Recycling, Inc.- Santa Teresa, New Mexico Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 Appendix 1 Photograph Log (see Appendix 3 for Photo Locations and Directions) REDACTED CBI Appendix 2 Daily Summary of 12/11/24 REDACTED CBI Appendix 3 Facility Layouts with Photo Locations on Facility Layout (REDACTED CBI) and Aerial Photo W Silver Recycling, Inc., Santa Teresa, New Mexico Inspection Date: 12/11/2024 APPENDIX 4 Appendix 4 Waste Table REDACTED CBI Page 1 of 7