Meridian Industries walked away in June 2003 from its textiles mill in Belmont, North Carolina, and then sold the property to another owner in 2006. Meridian left behind 300 containers filled with unidentified hazardous waste, a big no-no according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which first inspected the facility in 2007 and has now filed a lawsuit against Meridian.

 

The government accuses the company of violating federal and state law by not determining the hazardous level of the waste, not labeling the containers with either a date or the words “Hazardous Waste,” failing to obtain permits for their storage and not complying with inspection rules, among other violations, including not making their employees aware of waste handling and emergency procedures.

 

Meridian is facing daily fines of $27,500 from 1997 to 2004, and $32,500 per day from 2004 to 2006, when the property was sold.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Textile Company Sued Over Mystery Waste (by Sonya Angelica Diehn, Courthouse News Service)

United States v. Meridian Industries (U.S. District Court, Western North Carolina) (pdf)