[StBernard] [r6news] DuPont agrees to spend $66 million to reduce air pollution at four plants

Westley Annis westley at da-parish.com
Fri Jul 20 22:22:46 EDT 2007


(Dallas, Texas – July 20, 2007) The Department of Justice and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement today with E.I.
Du Pont de Nemours & Co. that is expected to reduce more than 13,000
tons of harmful emissions annually from four sulfuric acid production
plants in Louisiana, Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

Du Pont will spend at least $66 million on air pollution controls at the
plants and pay a civil penalty of $4.125 million under the Clean Air Act
settlement. The states of Louisiana, Virginia and Ohio joined the
federal government in today’s agreement and will receive shares of the
civil penalty.

“This is another example of EPA’s commitment to ensuring that all people
breathe healthier, cleaner air,” said EPA Regional Administrator Richard
E. Greene. “When companies that are major contributors to air pollution
take the initiative to install the best emissions control equipment, it
benefits everyone. If they don’t, we must take action to protect the
environmental health of our communities.”

The company will meet new, lower emission limits for sulfur dioxide at
its sulfuric acid production units in Darrow, La.; Richmond, Va.; North
Bend, Ohio; and Wurtland, Ky. At the Burnside plant in Darrow, the
largest of the four, Du Pont will install state-of-the-art “dual
absorption” pollution control equipment by Sept. 1, 2009, at an
estimated cost of at least $66 million. At the other three plants,
DuPont has the option of installing appropriate control equipment or
ceasing operations to meet the new lower emission limits. The
additional cost of installing control technologies at all of the
remaining three plants, if Du Pont does so, is estimated to be at least
$87 million. All four plants will meet their lower emission limits by
March 1, 2012.

Du Pont is the second sulfuric acid manufacturer in the nation to agree
to a company-wide global compliance agreement as part of an initiative
under which the Justice Department and EPA expect to reach similar
agreements with other sulfuric acid manufacturers. The first global
sulfuric acid manufacturing compliance agreement was announced earlier
this year with Rhodia Inc. As a result of the two settlements, this
initiative has now garnered pollution control at 12 plants, which will
eliminate a combined total of 32,000 tons of sulfur dioxide emissions
per year. When fully implemented, the settlement with Du Pont will
reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from the four plants by approximately 90
percent.

“This agreement demonstrates our commitment to a level playing field and
compliance with the law in the sulfuric acid industry,” said Ronald J.
Tenpas, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's
Environmental and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement shows
the high level of cooperation possible among the federal government, our
local and state partners, and industry when all are committed to
compliance and meaningful improvement of the environment.”

“Today’s settlement will reduce harmful air pollutants by more than
13,000 tons per year,” said Granta Y. Nakayama, EPA assistant
administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
“The actions taken today will ensure that those affected will be able to
breathe a little easier knowing these pollutants will no longer be in
the air.”

Du Pont’s plants produce acid by burning sulfur, creating sulfur
dioxide. The sulfur dioxide is then converted to sulfur trioxide, which
combines with water to form sulfuric acid. Air pollution is emitted
when unconverted sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid mist are released to
the atmosphere. Children, the elderly, and people with heart and lung
conditions are the most sensitive to sulfur dioxide.

The government’s complaint, filed today with the consent decree, alleges
that Du Pont made modifications to its plants which increased emissions
of sulfur dioxide without first obtaining pre-construction permits and
installing required pollution control equipment. The Clean Air Act
requires major sources of air pollution to obtain such permits before
making changes that would result in a significant emissions increase of
any pollutant. Today’s settlement will ensure that future emissions will
be reduced to a legally acceptable level.

The EPA is focusing on improving compliance among industries that have
the potential to cause significant amounts of air pollution, including
the cement manufacturing, glass manufacturing, and acid production
industries.

The consent decree, lodged today in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Ohio, is subject to a 30-day public comment period
and approval by the federal court. A copy of the consent decree is
available on the Justice Department Web site at
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. Du Pont is required to
pay the penalty within 30 days of the court’s approval of the
settlement.

To learn more about activities in EPA Region 6, please visit
www.epa.gov/region6.

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