Refinery pays penalty for waste fires

Owners of the North Pole Refinery will pay $80,000 to resolve accusations that they mishandled hazardous waste at the facility last year.

Flint Hills Resources Alaska will pay the penalty as part of a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency over groundwater cleanup activity on June 19, 2013.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (http://bit.ly/1whidbd) reports Flint Hills had processed groundwater to remove an industrial chemical, sulfolane, linked to an old refinery spill.

The EPA says Flint Hills disposed of used filters in an open trash bin and the filters “self-ignited.”

The North Pole Fire Department extinguished two fires.

The company as part of the settlement agreed to change its waste disposal practices.

Flint Hills spokesman Jeff Cook says the company self-reported the incident to the EPA.

- Associated Press