DEGS of Narrows LLC Settles Clean Air Act Violations
Category:Air Type: News Source: EPA Date: Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
PHILADELPHIA (March 2, 2010) - DEGS of Narrows LLC, a steam and electricity provider for Celanese Acetate's manufacturing plant in Narrows, Va., has settled alleged Clean Air Act violations with the Department of Justice, E.P.A. and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As part of the settlement announced today, DEGS has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $310,000 of which $155,000 will be paid to U.S. and the other $155,000 to the Commonwealth of Virginia.
"EPA will continue to work with our state partners to safeguard public health by making sure companies comply with environmental laws," said E.P.A. Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin. "Accurately monitoring and reporting environmental information is a legal and public obligation."
In addition to paying the civil penalties, DEGS has agreed as part of the settlement to surrender 450 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) allowances to EPA, resulting in the elimination of 450 tons of NOx emissions that would otherwise be permissible through pollution trading.
NOx contributes to the formation of acid rain and also increases low-level ozone, which causes smog. NOx can cause severe respiratory problems and exacerbate cases of childhood asthma.
The U.S. and the Commonwealth of Virginia alleged that DEGS failed to comply with federal and state requirements for maintaining quality-assured data from continuous emissions monitors for NOx from 2003 through 2007. Although not required in the settlement, the company has increased its institutional controls to ensure valid data is provided.
The U.S. and the Commonwealth also alleged that DEGs failed to comply with its operating permit under the Clean Air Act from 2003 to 2007 and failed to properly perform monitoring on valves and pressure relief devices to check for leaks during 2007.
Under EPA's self-disclosure policy, which allows companies to self-report violations to EPA, DEGS disclosed continuous emission monitor violations in December 2006. Although DEGS did not meet the formal requirements of EPA's self-disclosure policy, E.P.A. agreed to a reduced penalty in this case because of the company's self-disclosure.
The consent decree and complaint were lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia.
DEGS' facility is co-located with Celanese Acetate LLC at 3520 Virginia Avenue, Narrows, Virginia 24124. DEGS is a subsidiary of Duke Energy Corporation.
There are currently no comments for this story. Be the first to add a comment! Click here to add a comment about this story.
Related Pages
Terra Industries Incorporated to Pay Clean Air Act Penalty and Spend $17 Million to Install Pollution Controls ... to pay $625,000 in civil penalties to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act at 9 of its plants in Iowa, ... amounts of air pollution. In fiscal year 2010, EPA's enforcement actions in the cement manufacturing, coal-fired power plant, glass ...
E.P.A. Chooses Environmental Achievement Award Winners - 3 Awardees from Virginia ... Elementary School become the 1st LEED certified elementary school in Virginia. Its sustainable features include using a rainwater harvesting system ... or volunteer organization; business and industry; and state, local or other federal government agency. For ...
E.P.A. Salutes RecycleMania Winners - Virginia Military Institute Students Help Divert 7.7 Million Pounds of Waste from Landfills ... mid-Atlantic region: School State Total Pounds Pounds Per Student Virginia Military Institute Virginia ... .htm . For more information on Waste Wise, go to: www.epa.gov/wastewise/about/overview.htm . # Category: ...
Virginia Association Pledges to Help the Environment ... ." The new voluntary plan challenges businesses and manufacturers to become more environmentally aware and to adopt a ... switches is vaporized and emitted into the air when the scrap is processed into steel. The Virginia Automotive Recyclers Association is ...
E.P.A. Obtains Changes to West Virginia Coal Mine Permit to Significantly Protect Water and Environment ... the immediate watershed. E.P.A. believes the suggested mitigation is consistent with Clean Water Act regulations. Avoid Cumulative Impacts : To ... , and other state and federal partners in the review of suggested surface coal mines in West Virginia, Ohio, ...
E.P.A. Delivers Final Report on Air Toxics Outside School in Vienna, West Virginia ... ., a metallurgical manufacturing plant in the area, is the biggest emitter of manganese in the country. E.P.A. is reviewing the federal Clean Air Act ... determine if the changes are effective. Meanwhile, EPA, West Virginia DEP and Ohio E.P.A. will continue ...
West Virginia Joins E.P.A. Plan to Help Consumers Safely Dispose of Old Appliances CHARLESTON, W.Va. (June 17, 2010) -- West Virginia is the 1st state to join forces with the E.P.A.'s ... recycled or disposed of properly. RAD partners include retailers, municipalities, utilities, manufacturers and universities. West Virginia's Department of ...
West Virginia School District Settles ... at 100 Lizemore Lions Road, Lizemore, W.Va. According to EPA, an inspection conducted in 2007 by the West Virginia Department of Health and ... will not disturb asbestos. Lizemore School was assessed a civil penalty of $5,525. Since the school spent $600 to ...
E.P.A. and Virginia Company Settle Clean Air Act Violations (PHILADELPHIA, July 23, 2008) Celanese Acetate, L.L.C., a manufacturer of acetate products in Narrows, Va., will pay $60,000 to ... a boiler at the Celco plant, in violation of the Clean Air Act and the Commonwealth of Virginia's State Implementation Project ...
Unhealthy Air Quality Predicted for Tuesday in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. ... for Tuesday, July 18, in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Baltimore, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. - the 1st unhealthy Code Red day ... air days. 4. Setting air conditioning thermostats a few degrees higher to help reduce electrical demand throughout the ...
Green Tips
Walk, bike, car poolor use mass transit. If you leave your car at home two days a week, you'll reduce CO2 emissions by 1,590 pounds a year.
Featured Report
Major Land Usage
See the major uses of land broken into Crop, Pasture, Forest and Urban
New California air-quality rules would dramatically increase green cars on the ... The proposed regulations, which supporters say would keep California at the forefront of the clean cars movement, are intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent and smog-forming pollution by 75 percent by 2025. "We continue to face clean ...Environment New Jersey Holds Clean Air Rally Wednesday The RGGI program caps power plant pollution, requires polluters to pay for fouling our air, and invests that money in clean energy, according to ENJ. "Senator (Tom) Kean Jr. (R-21) voted the wrong way and that's why we are coming to Westfield to ...Florence Green, air force waitress who was last known veteran of World War I ... Andrew Holmes of the Gerontology Research Group, the researcher who found Green's service record, also said she was the last known survivor of the conflict _ and the sixth oldest person in Britain. Green's husband died in 1970.
