Wisconsin Department of Justice Reaches Two Settlements with a Waste Management Company in Eau Claire

Wednesday, June 24th, 2026 -- 8:00 AM

(Danielle Kaeding, Wisconsin Public Radio) The Wisconsin Department of Justice announced Monday it has reached two settlements with a waste management company in Eau Claire over alleged air and hazardous waste violations.

According Danielle Kaeding with the Wisconsin Public Radio, WRR Environmental Services Co. Inc. must pay a total of $325,000 in fines and other fees under deals signed last week in Eau Claire County Circuit Court, according to a DOJ news release.

The company is accused of violating the state’s air pollution control and hazardous waste management laws. The waste management firm owns and operates a hazardous waste storage and processing facility in Eau Claire.

The state alleges that WRR violated the law by operating without obtaining an air pollution control permit from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “Hazardous waste must be handled appropriately, in compliance with applicable laws,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said in the release, thanking those who worked on the settlements.

In addition to operating without a permit, the state alleged the company’s annual emissions of perchloroethylene, or PCE, exceeded state limits. The company is also accused of failing to properly maintain its hazardous waste containment systems and didn’t store incompatible waste in separate containers. The DOJ said improper storage resulted in a fire at the facility that released hazardous chlorine-containing gases into the air.

High exposure to chlorine gas can cause symptoms that include blurred vision, breathing problems and respiratory failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The company must replace an air pollution control device with a regenerative thermal oxidizer, a thermal incinerator that destroys hazardous air pollutants. The equipment is expected to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds, a large group of chemicals found in many products, by around 4 tons each year.

The company must also hire an independent environmental consulting firm to audit its air emissions for the next four years. WRR expects to spend $925,000 on those measures.

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