| The federal Environmental Protection Agency has filed a
complaint against Terra Industries Inc. for violations of the Emergency
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.
EPA's administrative complaint against Terra, which proposes a $315,700
fine, alleges that Terra's Crookston fertilizer mixing plant, located on
U.S. Highway 75, failed to immediately notify the Minnesota Emergency
Response Commission and the National Response Center of the release of
1,282 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on Aug. 29, 1998.
The Crookston fertilizer plant no longer is under Terra's ownership.
Mid-Valley Grain Co-op acquired the facility in February 2000.
According to the EPA, Terra reported the ammonia release 21/2 hours
after the incident. Federal laws require that companies handling hazardous
chemicals notify authorities as soon as they're aware that a reportable
quantity of chemical has been released.
"A couple of hours can be a matter of life or death, depending on
the chemical and the concentration of it, so we do look at things like
this very seriously," said Mick Hans, a public relations specialist
in EPA's Region 5 office.
"If a facility has a problem, fire departments, also people at
hospitals, need to know as soon as possible what's going on, what to be
prepared for," he said.
Under federal emergency response laws, facilities cited by EPA may
request a meeting with the agency within 30 days to discuss or contest a
proposed penalty.
"They have requested an informal conference and we'll proceed with
that, see where that goes," said Ruth McNamara, an EPA Region 5
enforcement specialist.
Terra spokesman Mark Rosenbury said the EPA's facts are correct
regarding the ammonia release, but that EPA's assertion that Terra's
notification of the incident was untimely is out of line.
According to the EPA, a written follow-up report on the ammonia release
was not submitted to MERC until the EPA made a formal information request
to Terra in December 1998.
"We plan to contest the fine," Rosenbury said. "We feel
we were definitely timely on the oral notification and that we handled
this in a reasonable fashion. We're contesting whether or not there should
even be a fine."
Since 1989, EPA Region 5 has filed 222 individual complaints for
violations of hazardous chemical reporting regulations. Those complaints
resulted in 209 settlements worth $4.98 million in total fines. |