Safety-Kleen of California, Inc. (Safety-Kleen) has filed an appeal against the Department of Toxic Substances Control (the Department) in the Court of Appeal of the State of California, First Appellate District, Division Three. The case, identified as A166575 and dated March 4, 2024, revolves around Safety-Kleen's petitions for writ of mandate seeking to compel the Department to set aside final inspection violation scores concerning its oil and hazardous waste treatment facility.
Safety-Kleen argues that the Department abused its discretion under the Hazardous Waste Control Law by classifying certain violations at their facility as Class I or reclassifying several prior Class II violations as more serious Class I violations. The plaintiff contends that these classifications pose a significant threat to human health or safety or the environment.
However, after applying settled rules of statutory construction, it was concluded that section 25110.8.5 sets forth independent bases for categorizing a violation as a Class I violation. Therefore, it was determined that the Department did not abuse its discretion in determining Safety-Kleen’s final inspection violation scores.
Safety-Kleen is seeking judgment to have these final inspection violation scores set aside. They argue that these scores are unjust and unfairly categorized based on regulations under the Hazardous Waste Control Law.