Respondent operates a yeast manufacturing facility using anhydrous ammonia. Respondent has on-site for use, 102,420 pounds of anhydrous ammonia. Respondent has registered an RMPlan with the EPA for its Facility and has developed an RMProgram accidental release prevention program for the Facility. Respondent has one RMProgram level 3 covered process.
On March 2, 2022, the EPA conducted an on-site inspection of the RMProgram related records and equipment for the purpose of assessing the Respondent’s compliance with the RMProgram requirements and the implemented recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices
(RAGAGEP) for its covered process at its Facility.
At the time of the inspection, EPA observed the following:
a. There was not a prominent sign indicating the contents of the anhydrous ammonia tank. Section 6.6.1 of Compressed Gas Association G- 2.1 Requirements for the Storage and Handling of Anhydrous Ammonia, Sixth Edition states, “Each container or group of containers shall be marked on at least two sides, which are visible with the words, ANHYDROUS AMMONIA, or CAUTION- AMMONIA, in sharply contrasting colors with letters not less than 3.9 in (100 mm) high.”
b. The operating procedures included steps for normal operation but did not include any of the elements of the operating procedures listed in Paragraph 18.b of this CAFO.
There was no evidence that the Facility’s operating procedures were certified annually.
The Management of Change (MOC) procedures did not assure that considerations regarding modifications to operating procedures are addressed prior to any change. There were two MOC forms completed that required a pre-startup safety review (PSSR) before initiating the change. These MOC forms were not fully certified and signed by management, which means that the associated PSSRs were not performed before initiating the changes. Therefore, the PSSRs were not completed before startup as required. Additionally, Respondent was unable to produce documentation of an initial PSSR completed prior to startup of the anhydrous ammonia process in 2019.
The respondent had not coordinated annually with emergency response organizations. The Dothan Fire Department visited the Facility in 2019. There is no evidence that the fire department visited the Facility in 2020 or 2021.
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS
Based on EPA’s compliance monitoring investigation, the EPA alleges that the Respondent violated 40 C.F.R. Part 68, the codified rules governing the Act’s Chemical Accident Prevention Provisions and Section 112(r) of the Act when it:
a. Failed to document that equipment complies with recognized and generally accepted good engineering practices, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.65(d)(2);
b. Failed to develop and implement written operating procedures that provide clear instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process consistent with the process safety information and that address at least the
following elements:
(1) Steps for each operating phase:
[….]
(iii) Temporary operations;
(iv) Emergency shutdown including the conditions under which emergency shutdown is required, and the assignment of shutdown responsibility to qualified operators to ensure that emergency shutdown is executed in a safe and timely manner;
(v) Emergency operations;
(vi) Normal shutdown; and,
(vii) Startup following a turnaround, or after an emergency shutdown.
[….]
(3) Safety and health considerations:
(i) Properties of, and hazards presented by, the chemicals used in the process;
[….]
(iii) Control measures to be taken if physical contact or airborne exposure occurs;
(iv) Quality control for raw materials and control of hazardous chemical inventory levels; and,
(v) Any special or unique hazards.
(4) Safety systems and their functions, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.69(a);
c. Failed to certify annually that operating procedures are current and accurate, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.69(c);
d. Failed to establish and implement written procedures to manage changes that assured considerations regarding modifications to operating procedures are addressed prior to any change, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.75(b)(3);
e. Failed to perform a PSSR for modified stationary sources when the modification is significant enough to require a change in the process safety information, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.77(a); and
f. Failed to coordinate annually with the local emergency planning and response organization to address changes: At the stationary source; in the stationary source’s emergency response and/or emergency action plan and/or in the community emergency response plan, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 68.93(a).
Respondent consents to the payment of a civil penalty, which was calculated in accordance with the Act, in the amount of $17,996, which is to be paid within thirty (30) calendar days of the Effective Date of this CAFO.
CLICK HERE for the CAFO