New York Paralegal Blog

WASHINGTON – Terra Industries Inc., one of the nation’s largest producers of nitric acid and nitrogen fertilizers, has agreed to pay $625,000 in civil penalties to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act at nine of its plants in Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today. As part of the settlement, Terra will also spend an estimated $17 million to install and implement new controls and technologies that are expected to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions at its facilities by at least 1,200 tons per year. “This agreement will require Terra Industries to make important improvements in pollution control technology at nine acid-producing facilities that will result in cleaner and healthier air for the benefit of communities in Iowa, Mississippi and Oklahoma,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. ...

WASHINGTON – Air Products LLC has agreed to pay $1.485 million in civil penalties to resolve hazardous waste mismanagement violations at its Pasadena, Texas, chemical manufacturing facility, the Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state of Texas announced today. The settlement resolves Air Products’ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations in transferring spent acid to the neighboring Agrifos Fertilizer Inc. manufacturing plant. As part of the settlement, Air Products has agreed to continue to manage the spent acid on-site and not ship it to Agrifos or any other facility not authorized to accept it. Air Products is currently in compliance with the RCRA requirements specified in the settlement. Air Products has agreed to notify EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in the event that the spent acid is either disposed of or sent off site.