Respondent is the owner and operator of a food storage and distribution facility which includes refrigerated process areas and storage areas with a refrigeration system that uses anhydrous ammonia with a capacity of 14,722 pounds. Respondent uses anhydrous ammonia in a refrigeration “process,” as defined by 40 C.F.R. § 68 .3. in a typical vapor compression refrigeration cycle with compressors, condensers, and evaporators at the Facility (the “Process”). On December 6, 2016. EPA conducted an inspection of the Facility in order to determine the Facility’s compliance with Section 112(r) of the CAA. 42 U.S.C. § 74 12(r), and its regulations, the Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions of 40 C.F.R. Part 68. Based upon the information gathered pursuant to the Inspection, EPA alleges the following violations of 40 C.F. R. Part 68.
COUNT 1: FAIlURE TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FACILITY’S EQUIPMENT COMPLIED WITH RECOGNIZED AND GENERALLY ACCEPTABLE GOOD ENGINEERING PRACTICES
Applicable industry standards for anhydrous ammonia refrigeration systems include the American National Standards Institute /American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers 15 (“ANSI/ASHRAE 15”), Safety Standard for Refrigeration Systems and Designation and Classification of Refrigerants (2013). ANSI/ ASHRAE 15 is recognized and generally accepted as good engineering practices for safeguards pertaining to anhydrous ammonia refrigeration systems.
Section 8.12(f) of ANSI/ASHRAE 15 states “All pipes piercing the interior walls, ceiling, or floor of such rooms shall be tightly sealed to the walls, ceiling , or floor through which they pass.”
During the Inspection, EPA observed several pipes inside the ammonia refrigeration mechanical room that pierced interior walls and continued into other areas of the Facility, but the openings where the pipes pierced the mechanical room wall were not tightly sealed to the walls.
COUNT 2: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH OPERATING PROCEDURE REQUIREMENTS
Additionally, an owner or operator must review operating procedures as often as necessary to assure that they reflect current operating practice, including changes that result from changes in process chemicals, technology, and equipment, and changes to stationary sources. 40 C.F.R § 68.69(c). The owner or operator must certify annually that the operating procedures are current and accurate. See id.
At the time of Inspection, Respondent did not have annual certifications that the Facility’s standard operating procedures for the ammonia refrigeration process were current and accurate.
COUNT 3: FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH REFRESHER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 68.71(b), refresher training shall be provided at least every three years, and more often if necessary, to each employee involved in operating a process to assure that the employee understands and adheres to the current operating procedures of the process. The owner or operator is obligated to ascertain that each employee involved in operating a process has received and understood the refresher training and shall maintain a record which contains the identity of the employee, the date of the training, and the means used to verify that the employee understood the training. See 40 C.F.R. § 68.71(c). The records should be retained for five years. See 40 C.F.R. § 68.200.
At the time of the Inspection, Respondent had maintained records to demonstrate that it provided refresher training to three employees involved in operating a process in September 2016, February 2017, and February 2018, respectively. However, Respondent failed to maintain records to demonstrate that Respondent provided those same three employees refresher training at some point during the three years preceding the most recent refresher training (i.e., since September 2013, February 2014, and February 2015, respectively).
COUNT 4: FAILURE TO MAINTAIN UPDATED PROCESS SAFETY INFORMATION
Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 68.75, the owner or operator must establish and implement written procedures to manage changes to process chemicals, technology, equipment, and procedures; and changes to stationary sources that affect a covered process. See 40 C.F.R. § 68.75(a). If such a change results in a change in the process safety information required by 40 C.F.R § 68.65, such information shall be updated accordingly. See 40 C.F.R. § 68.75(d). Process safety information required under 40 C.F.R § 68.65 includes information pertaining to the equipment in the process, such as piping and instrument diagrams (“P&IDs”). See 40 C.F.R. § 68.65(d)(1)(ii). At the time of Inspection, Respondent had made process changes at the Facility, however, Respondent failed to update corresponding P&IDs to reflect those process changes.
COUNT 5: FAILURE TO CERTIFY COMPLIANCE AUDIT
Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 68.79(a), the owner or operator of a stationary source at which a regulated substance is present in more than a threshold quantity shall certify that they have evaluated compliance with the provisions of this subpart at least every three years to verify that procedures and practices developed under this subpart are adequate and are being followed. At the time of inspection, Respondent had conducted an audit in 2012 and 2015. However, the owner or operator failed to certify that the 2015 compliance audit had been evaluated and that the procedures and practices developed as a result of the audit were adequate and being followed.
COUNT 6: FAILURE TO PROMPTLY DETERMINE AND DOCUMENT AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO EACH OF THE FINDINGS OF THE COMPLIANCE AUDIT AND DOCUMENT THAT DEFICIENCIES HAVE BEEN CORRECTED
Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 68.79(d), the owner or operator shall promptly determine and document an appropriate response to each of the findings of the compliance audit, and document that deficiencies have been corrected. Following the Inspection, Respondent provided documentation that the 2012 and 2015 compliance audits were conducted at the Facility pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 68.79(b); however, Respondent failed to demonstrate that all deficiencies from the 2012 audit had been corrected as required under 40 C.F.R. § 68.79(d). Some of the findings from the 2012 compliance audit were carried over to the findings of the 2015 compliance audit without indication that the deficiencies had been corrected.
COUNT 7: FAILURE TO TIMELY SUBMIT A CORRECTION FOR EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION IN RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN
Pursuant to 40 C.F.R. § 68.195, the owner or operator of a stationary source for which an RMP was submitted shall submit a correction of the RMP within one month of any change in the emergency contact information required under 40 C.F.R. § 68.160(b)(6) (i.e., the name , title, telephone numb er, 24-hour telephone number, and the email address (if an email address exists) of the emergency contact). See 40 C.F .R. § 68.195(b).
At the time of Inspection, Respondent had not submitted a correction of the RMP with the Facility’s designated emergency contact, and the contact ‘s corresponding emergency contact information, even when the emergency contact information had changed several months prior to the Inspection. Respondent noted that it had experienced difficulty accessing eRMP to submit the correction during this time period.
The EPA Civil Penalty of $65,502 stated herein is based upon Complainant’s consideration of a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the penalty criteria set forth in Section 113(e) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. § 7413(e), and is consistent with 40 C.F.R. Part 19 and the Combined Enforcement Policy for Clean Air Act Sections 112(r)(1), 112(,X7) and 40 C.F.R. Part 68 (June 2012).
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