Oct 14 Reuters - The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced a resolution with industrial materials producer DuPont and DuPont to resolve alleged violations of environmental laws in the U.S. Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency EPA and the Environmental Quality Board on Thursday.
Under the settlement agreement, DuPont and PMNA will conduct compliance audits, control benzene emissions and perform other injunctive relief to address violations at the facility.
Defendants will also pay a $3.1 million civil penalty and attorney's fees to the State of Texas, the Justice Department said in a statement.
In a joint complaint filed on Oct. 13, the United States, on behalf of the EPA, and the state of Texas, alleged DuPont and PMNA violated the environmental hazardous waste, air and water regulatory laws at PMNA Sabine River chemical manufacturing facility in Orange, Texas. The former DuPont facility is operated by PMNA and owned by the US government.
The alleged violations included failure to make hazardous waste determinations, failure to meet effective land disposal restrictions and unpermitted discharges of process wastewater, among others, the Justice Department said.
The petrochemical industry must operate in compliance with environmental laws, said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
We will continue to hold operators accountable to address pollution from industrial operations that violate the law, such as those at the Sabine River facility, and to enhance public health and the environment, especially in surrounding communities overburdened with industrial pollution, Kim said.
The consent decree was lodged with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on 13 Oct and is also going to be published in the Federal Register with an opportunity for public comment.