PITTSBURGH — SMM South Corp. will pay a $14,200 penalty to settle environmental issues with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management at its Birmingham auto shredder operation.

SMM, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sims Metal Management Ltd., has signed a proposed consent order to gain compliance. The alleged violations were uncovered during compliance inspections in March and April.

The largest part of the penalty consisted of $10,000 for allegedly failing to obtain a permit prior to treating hazardous waste on the site. SMM indicated that it didn’t believe it was in violation because it wasn’t treating the waste, but instead was storing it until an oil recycler removed the used oil and gas.

SMM declined to comment, but noted in the consent order that it doesn’t admit guilt and signed the document to comply with the Alabama Hazardous Waste Management and Minimization Act.

Other alleged violations included failing to maintain documentation of its arrangements with state and local emergency response teams, failing to maintain records of inspections of a hazardous waste accumulation tank and failing to document how much hazardous waste was generated monthly.