For Immediate Release For More Information Contact:
October 16, 2007 Kevin St. John 608/266-1221

LAND O’LAKES CABINETRY AGREES TO PAY PENALTIES IN HAZARDOUS WASTE SETTLEMENT

MADISON – Land O’Lakes Cabinetry of Vilas County, will pay $9,000 for alleged violations of the state’s hazardous waste management laws. The Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) filed and settled the case following an investigation by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR.)
According to the complaint, filed at the request of the DNR, the defendant’s cabinet manufacturing operations generate waste lacquer thinner which is a hazardous waste due to its ignitability. The complaint alleges that approximately every three weeks between August of 2005 and January of 2007, the defendant improperly disposed of waste lacquer thinner by dumping approximately five gallons of it, with sawdust, into a pit outdoors on its property and burning it, in violation of state law.
In announcing the judgment, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen stressed the importance for companies to follow the state laws, which require the proper treatment and disposal of hazardous waste to licensed facilities. “To ensure that hazardous waste is disposed of properly, the DOJ will continue to work with the DNR to enforce Wisconsin’s environmental laws.”
The settlement was approved on October 3, 2007 by Vilas County Circuit Court Judge Neal A. Nielsen. The state was represented by Assistant Attorney General Shari Eggleson in this case.

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