Respondent is supplied with raw chemical feedstocks by tanker truck or railcar. Chemical unloading operations occur on the eastern portion of the Facility at dedicated tank truck and railcar unloading stations. Several chemicals are stored in bulk at the Facility in dedicated aboveground storage tanks (ASTs), including, nitric acid (one tank), hydrogen peroxide (four tanks), sodium hypochlorite (two tanks), and sulfuric acid (three storage tanks). The nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and sodium hypochlorite ASTs are located within dedicated concrete secondary containment areas located beyond the Facility’s eastern building wall. The sulfuric acid tanks are located inside the building in the chemical transfer room. Finished products are primarily packaged into drums and totes for off-site shipments to customers.
Some of the extremely hazardous substances processed, handled, or stored at the Facility are described below.
a. Sulfuric acid (93% and 50% concentrations) and nitric acid are listed as extremely hazardous substances under EPCRA Section 302 and 40 C.F.R. Part 355, Appendices A and B.
b. Aqueous ammonia (29% concentration) is a CAA 112(r) regulated substance listed in 40 C.F.R. § 68.130.
c. Cyanides are extremely hazardous substances within the meaning of the GDC because they are fast-acting poisons that can be lethal when breathed in, among other possible routes of exposure.
d. The incompatible chemical combinations also are “extremely hazardous substances,” as that term encompasses any substance that alone or in combination with other substances or factors may cause death, serious injury, or substantial property damages as a result of short-term exposures associated with releases to the air.
On November 21, 2019, EPA and its contractors conducted an inspection (the “Inspection”) at the Facility. The principal purpose of the Inspection was to determine whether Respondent was operating the Facility in compliance with federal environmental laws and regulations administered by EPA, including but not limited to Sections 302 – 312 of EPCRA, 42 U.S.C. §§ 11002 – 11022, and Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act.
During the Inspection and based on information submitted by Respondent after the Inspection, several areas of concern were noted for the Facility. EPA issued an inspection report on January 17, 2020 (revised in May 2020), documenting observations and areas of concern identified under the CAA Section § 112(r) that form the basis of the alleged violations described below.
Also, in 2021, a sulfuric acid spill occurred during the offloading of a railcar at the Facility due to a ruptured hose, resulting in further information gathering by EPA in 2022. The unanticipated release of any extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air from the Facility, either alone or as a result of a reaction with a co-located incompatible material, would constitute an “accidental release,” as that term is defined by Section 112(r)(2)(A) of the CAA.
ALLEGED VIOLATIONS