Anhydrous ammonia plant, parent company settle in EPA lawsuit
LONGVIEW, Wash. — A national chemical manufacturing company and its St. Helens, Ore., facility is paying nearly $1.4 million to remedy environmental violations as part of a federal court settlement this week.
Dyno Nobel agreed to pay $492,000 in civil penalties and nearly $940,000 for emergency equipment after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed complaints against the company for 14 counts of violating federal environmental law.
Among the violations were two large, unplanned anhydrous ammonia releases from the St. Helens plant in 2010 and 2015 that Dyno Nobel failed to “immediately report,” according to a news release. Exposure to high concentrations of ammonia can lead to serious lung damage or death.
The St. Helens plant also “failed to accurately estimate and report the total amount of routine ammonia releases” to the EPA’s toxic release inventory, which tracks the amount of certain chemical emissions made by major industries and companies in the U.S.
In the court case, the EPA also accused the company of inadequately training workers; failing to create an adequate written operating procedure for the plant; and inadequately maintaining and testing equipment — all violations under federal law for facilities that store more than 10,000 pounds of ammonia, the release said.
Dyno Nobel’s St. Helens plant makes and stores ammonia as part of its regular operations. The plant make ammonia and related chemical products for fertilizers, refrigerant and other agricultural and industrial applications.
The settlement reached Tuesday requires Dyno Nobel to pay $492,000 in penalties and pay for $939,852 of emergency response equipment for Columbia County authorities. The company will also have to file revised estimates of its total ammonia releases, update its Risk Management Plan and hire a third party to audit its compliance with chemical release reporting, emergency response and risk management regulations, according to the release.
