Respondent’s denaturant process contains a mixture with a NFPA rating of 4, and is therefore a flammable mixture as specified in 40 C.F.R. § 68.115(b)(2). On or about May 2-3, 2012, EPA conducted an inspection to determine compliance with RMP 40 C.F.R. Part 68. Respondent’s denaturant process stores approximately 715,000 pounds, with the entire weight of the mixture being treated as a regulated substance. Respondent was required under 40 C.F.R. Part 68, to develop and implement a Risk Management Program that includes a hazard assessment, a prevention program, an emergency response program, and to file a Risk Management Plan. Records collected during the inspection showed that Respondent failed to fully comply with 40 C.F.R. Part 68, specifically:
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.15. Facility did not develop a management system to oversee the implementation of the risk management program elements.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.155( d), §68.180 and §68.195. Facility failed to provide an executive summary that included a brief description of the five-year accident history, failed to submit an RMP that included information regarding the emergency response program, and failed to update emergency contact information within the RMP.
- Failure to document methodology used to determine distance to endpoints as required by 40 C.F.R. §68.39(d-e). Facility failed to document the methodology used to estimate distance to endpoints and data used to establish population and environmental receptors.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.65(c)(l)(iv-v). Facility failed to document the safe upper and lower limits for the process and consequences of deviation from those limits.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.65(d)(2). Facility failed to document that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.67(f) and (g). Facility failed to conduct a PHA every five years and failed to retain the process hazards analyses and updates and revalidations for the life of the process.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.69(a). Facility failed to develop and implement written operating procedures that addressed all operating phases, such as initial start-up, temporary operations, emergency operations, emergency shutdown, and start-up after a shutdown.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.69(d). Facility failed to develop and implement safe work practices to provide for the control of hazards during opening process equipment or piping for safe work practices.
- Failure to implement the requirements of 40 C.F.R. §68.79(c-d). Facility did not document the resolutions of recommendations for the October 2008 Compliance Audit.
Respondent will provide written notice to EPA of the date the facility re-starts operations. Within 120 days of that date, Respondent will submit a signed certification to EPA stating that to the best of Respondent’s knowledge, Respondent’s facility is in compliance with the requirements of Section 112(r) of the CAA, 43 U.S.C. 7412(r) and the regulations promulgated thereunder. Respondent agrees to complete the following Supplemental Environmental Project (“SEP”), which the parties agree is intended to secure significant environmental and/or public health benefits.
Respondent shall donate emergency response equipment to the City Fire Department, at a cost of no less than Twenty-Three Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixteen Dollars ($23,716), in accordance with the Respondent’s SEP Work Plan. Respondent shall pay a civil penalty of Thirty-One Thousand Two Hundred and Twenty-Seven Dollars ($31,227) within 30 days of entry of this Final Order.
Facility will perform a Supplemental Environmental Project consisting of donations of emergency response equipment to the City Fire Department. Facility will purchase the following equipment within 90 days of the effective date of the Consent Agreement and Final Order:
- Thirty-six new Cairns 1044 Defender helmets (and 39 shields) to meet NFPA standards including space for respirators and for lighting and other safety attachments, all of which improve visibility and safety for emergency response, at a cost of $9,607.36;
- A Bullard Eclipse LD thermal imaging camera to enhance safety and effectiveness in firefighting, including situations where smoke hinders emergency response, at a cost of $10,215.10; and
- A TFT Blitzfire ground monitor master stream that allows firefighters to lay down a stream of water, unmanned, when fighting a large or intense fire enhancing emergency response actions including evacuation and optimizing manpower, particularly in the case of a volunteer fire department, at a cost of $3,894.19.
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