Breaking down the $1.3M paid by New England companies for violating ammonia regulations

November 29th, 2018 by Dakota Software Staff

The recent settlements between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and seven companies in four New England states accused of various compliance failures illustrates the ways in which certain regulations can impact a wide range of seemingly disparate industries.

Collectively, the companies agreed to pay over $580,000 in penalties and spend more than $750,000 to become compliant with requirements regarding the safe use of anhydrous ammonia in refrigeration and cooling units.

A closer look at the specific industries, violations and resulting fines that contributed to a total of $1.3 million in settlements can prove instructive for other companies that may be at risk of heavy fines, as the EPA continues its crackdown on toxic chemicals.

Massachusetts

Of the seven companies involved in the settlements, two were located in Massachusetts, including a pet food company and a skating rink complex.

The EPA alleged the pet food company, based in New Bedford, violated the federal Emergency Planning and Community-Right-to-Know Act by failing to annually notify emergency response and planning agencies about the presence of hazardous chemicals. The company was also accused of violating the Clean Air Act's "General Duty Clause" requirements that apply to ammonia refrigeration systems that have less than 10,000 pounds of ammonia, which include appropriate storage of combustible materials and the installation of adequate ventilation and ammonia alarms.

The company agreed to pay a $89,140 penalty and provide nearly $100,000 worth of protective clothing to the New Bedford Fire Department.

A large ice skating rink complex in Marlborough, Massachusetts, which uses anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant to keep the ice frozen, was accused of failing to notify emergency responders about the presence of ammonia and not completing a required hazard review. The company agreed to pay a $24,263 penalty as part of the settlement.

Maine

Two frozen food companies in Maine were also penalized for ammonia-related violations.

A frozen potato products producer in Easton agreed to pay a $225,000 penalty for alleged violations of a CAA provision commonly known as the risk management planning rule. As part of its refrigeration process, the company stores over 10,000 pounds of ammonia, which is the threshold for the risk management planning rule. The company has also been required by the settlement to create a plan for notifying local Amish residents who are without modern communications equipment in the event of an ammonia release.

Meanwhile, a blueberry processing plant and cold storage warehouse in Machias, Maine, agreed to pay a $53,000 penalty as a result of its alleged violations of the risk management planning rule. The EPA also expressed concern about the remote nature of the facility, which is located hours away from the nearest team of emergency responders. After the agency's inspection, the company made changes that would assure local firefighters would not need to enter the warehouse to ventilate ammonia and turn off equipment in an emergency.

Connecticut

In Connecticut, a dry ice supplier and a dairy company both paid penalties related to the Superfund law.

A dry ice company in Norwalk agreed to pay a $27,095 penalty for failing to notify the National Response Center of an ammonia release, as required by the Superfund law. The company failed to comply with the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act and also fell short of the standards of the CAA's General Duty Clause. An EPA inspection of the facility, which occurred after a 2016 ammonia release was detected by employees of a nearby company, uncovered these violations.

A dairy company in New Britain faced allegations that it had violated the CAA's risk management planning rule and the Superfund law's chemical release reporting requirements. After an EPA inspection of the dairy, a clamp truck ran into an ammonia feed line and caused an ammonia release. The company settled with the EPA for $157,214.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire laid claim to only one of the seven companies, a seafood packager in Portsmouth that paid $7,200 for alleged violations of the risk management planning rule at its cold storage warehouse.

The EPA has stated that all seven of the companies across four states cooperated with the agency's New England regional office, while also noting that the EPA co-sponsored ammonia safety trainings in all six New England states in 2017 and 2018.

The settlements are all a result of the EPA National Compliance Initiative to prevent chemical accidents, which is likely to produce more cases in other regions of the country on into the new year.