Kenneth C. Johnson, Hazardous Waste Fraud, Oregon 2019

Portland, OR – The owner of Technical Finishes and Coatings, Inc. (TFC), Kenneth Johnson, was sentenced in November 2019 after being found guilty of knowingly mischaracterizing hazardous waste to avoid disposal costs, according to court documents unsealed this week. The scheme, perpetrated throughout 2017, involved falsely claiming industrial waste contained no chromium, a known hazardous material, to secure cheaper transportation and disposal rates.

TFC, a metal-stripping and plating operation, routinely generated waste containing electroless nickel and nickel strip. When soliciting bids for removal of approximately 88 drums of this waste in the spring of 2017, the company received a detailed analysis from WasteXpress indicating chromium contamination – a designation that would require hazardous waste disposal protocols and a significantly higher price tag. Johnson vehemently rejected WasteXpress’s findings, arguing the drums were non-hazardous and the proposed rates would financially cripple his business.

Instead, Johnson secured a bid from Univar for $7,876 to remove 88 drums, based on a US Ecology waste profile form he completed on June 5, 2017. Crucially, this form *certified* the waste was non-hazardous, relying on Johnson’s self-proclaimed “Process/Generator Knowledge” rather than actual lab analysis – despite receiving the WasteXpress report just three days prior. Univar subsequently transported 107 drums to US Ecology’s Idaho facility, where they were accepted as non-hazardous, saving TFC approximately $22,640 compared to WasteXpress’s initial quote for 100 drums.

The deception didn’t end there. In August 2018, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) independently sampled waste shipped from TFC to US Ecology and confirmed the presence of hazardous levels of chromium. This triggered a federal investigation that ultimately led to Johnson and TFC being held accountable for their deliberate attempt to circumvent environmental regulations and defraud waste disposal services.

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Key Facts

Defendant: Kenneth C. Johnson, Owner/President of Technical Finishes and Coatings, Inc. (TFC)
Location: Oregon
Year of Offense: 2017
Crime: Fraudulent mischaracterization of hazardous waste.
False Claim: Certified waste contained no chromium despite evidence to the contrary.
Financial Gain: Saved approximately $22,640 in disposal costs.

Legal Consequences

Johnson was sentenced to pay a $22,640 fine and serve five years of probation, in addition to completing 100 hours of community service. TFC was also fined $22,640 and placed on one year of probation. The violations occurred under 42 U.S.C. 6928(d)(3) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), which governs the management of hazardous waste. The RCRA aims to protect human health and the environment by ensuring the proper handling, storage, and disposal of potentially dangerous materials. This case serves as a stark reminder that intentional misrepresentation of waste composition carries serious legal and financial repercussions.

The EPA continues to prioritize enforcement of environmental regulations, and this case highlights the agency’s commitment to holding individuals and companies accountable for endangering public health and the environment through illegal waste management practices. Further investigations into TFC’s waste handling procedures are ongoing, according to sources within the EPA’s criminal investigation division.

Source: EPA ECHO Enforcement Case Database

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