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Dupont
The Texas Attorney General's Office, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice, named E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. and Performance Materials, NA, Inc., in an environmental lawsuit filed on Oct. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The lawsuit alleges numerous violations of state and federal environmental laws at the Sabine River Works Chemical Manufacturing Complex in Orange.
A proposed settlement was also filed with the court. The settlement would assess penalties and attorney’s fees against the defendants in the amount of $3.35 million, to be divided equally between the state and the federal government. The settlement also includes extensive injunctive relief to protect human health and the environment.
In the proposal, the complaint alleges that the company failed to comply with RCRA and the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, and other regulatory requirements, with respect to the generation, treatment, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste at the facility. The discharge of pollutants to the air, “and some of their harmful effects, include, inter alia: corrosive materials (pH less than 2.0 or greater than 12.5), which cause irritation, blistering, and burns to tissue upon contact; benzene, which is a known human carcinogen and volatile organic compound (“VOC”); and other VOCs found in the ethylene process. VOCs contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, a major constituent of smog,” the complaint details.
The government is seeking civil penalty of up to $32,500 per day for each violation occurring after March 15, 2004, through Jan. 12, 2009; up to $37,500 per day for each violation occurring after Jan. 12, 2009, through Nov. 2, 2015; and up to $76,764 per day for each violation occurring after Nov. 2, 2015, and assessed on or after Dec. 23, 2020.