JEFFERSON City, Mo. (Legal Newsline) - A St. Louis residential and commercial painting company has agreed to pay penalties of $28,600 for violations of Missouri's Hazardous Waste Management Law and Regulations.

Attorney General Chris Koster announced that Celtic Painting, which operates at multiple locations in St. Louis, will pay the penalties following a 2007 investigation by the Department of Natural Resources that revealed multiple violations.

The DNR cited Celtic Painting for failing to identify and properly dispose of hazardous waste, a major violation. Based on a complaint, the department conducted an inspection at Celtic Painting's 900 S. Second St. location and discovered a large abandoned shipping container with more than 8,000 pounds of flammable and toxic paint waste stored inside.

The DNR then inspected a second Celtic Paining location at 9437 Watson Industrial Drive, finding that the facility had failed to register as a generator of hazardous waste and operated without a permit as a storage facility for hazardous waste.

Celtic Painting was also found to have failed to properly mark and label its containers of hazardous waste and failed to follow emergency preparedness requirements.

Celtic Painting party corrected all of the violations at both locations with department direction and oversight.

"Missouri's hazardous waste laws exist to protect public and environmental health," Koster said. "This office takes very seriously the environmental integrity of our state and will continue to pursue those who violate our environmental laws and harm our natural resources."

Celtic Painting's settlement agreement requires that the company pay $3,000, split between the St. Louis County School Fund and the St. Louis City School Fund, over a four quarter time period.

The remaining $25,600 in penalties are suspended contingent upon the company not committing any repeat violations for five years following the effective date of the settlement agreement. The amount paid upfront by Celtic Painting was based on financial information regarding the company's ability to pay.