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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAQ_F_0900009_20090429_ENF_CPACover I > NCDENR North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Air Quality Beverly Eaves Perdue B. Keith Overcash, P.E. Dee Freeman Governor Director Secretary CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED 7002 2410 0003 0262 2270 RECEIVE April 30,2009 MAY 05 2009. Ms. I{aren Wrigley, Plant Manager DuPont Company-Fayetteville Works DENR 22828 NC Highway 87 West FAYEITEVILLE REGIONAL OFFICE Fayetteville,NC 28306 SUBJECT: -Civil Penalty Assessment for Violation(s) NC General Statutes NCGS 143-215.108 Control of sources of air pollution; permits required. File No.: DAQ 2009-049 Violator: DuPont Company -Fayetteville Works County: Bladen Facility ID: 0900009 Dean Ms. Wrigley: This letter transmits notice of civil penalty assessed against DuPont Company - Fayetteville Works in the amount of $3,000 and $285 investigative costs, for a total of$3,285. Enclosed is a copy of the assessment document explaining this penalty. This action was taken under the authority vested in me by the delegation pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes(NCGS) 143-215.114A(d). Any new or continuing violation(s) may be the subject of a new enforcement action, including additional penalty. You must take one of the three actions outlined below within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of this letter. Please be advised that tf you fail to exercise one of the following options within thirty (30) days, you will lose your right to appeal or contest this case and your case will be forwarded to the Attorney General's Office for collection. 1. Submit payment of the penalty: Payment should be made directly to the order of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR). When submitting payment, please reference your DAQ case number on your check to insure proper posting. Please do not include the attached waiver form when submitting payment. Payment of the penalty will not foreclose further enforcement action for any continuing or new violation(s). Please submit payment to the attention of: 1641 Mail Service Center,Raleigh,North Carolina 27699-1641 One 2728 Capital Blvd.,Raleigh,North Carolina 27604 't,TQ .i,L�r"+Lt�,�7 Phone:919-733-17281 FAX:919-733-16121 Internet:vnvw.ncaicorg/ 1 Y .i�l�. 1��� An Equal Opportunity r Affirmative Action Employer Ms. Wrigley April 30, 2009 Page 2 Enforcement Group-Payment Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Air Quality 1641 Mail Service Center Raleigh,NC 27699-1641 Please be advised, that it is the policy.jor NCDENR to charge and collect a processing fee of$25.00 for checks on which payment has been refused by the bank because of insufficient funds or because of an invalid bank account. OR 2: Submit a written request for remission including a detailed justification for such request: Please be aware that a request for remission is limited to consideration of the five factors listed below as they may relate to the reasonableness of the amount of the civil penalty assessed. Requesting remission is not the proper procedure for contesting whether the violation(s) occurred or the accuracy of the factual statements contained in the civil penalty assessment document. Because a remission request forecloses the option of an administrative hearing, such a request must be accompanied by a waiver of your right to an administrative hearing and a stipulation and agreement that no factual or legal issues are in dispute. Please prepare a detailed statement that establishes why you believe the civil penalty should be remitted, and submit it to the address listed below. In determining whether a remission request will be approved, the following factors shall be considered: (1) whether one or more of the civil penalty assessment factors in NCGS 14313-282.1(b)were wrongfully applied to the detriment of the violator; (2) whether the violator promptly abated continuing environmental damage resulting from the violation; (3) whether the violation was inadvertent or a result of an accident; (4) whether the violator has been assessed civil penalties for any previous violations;or (5) whether payment of the civil penalty will prevent payment for the remaining necessary remedial actions. Please note that all evidence presented in support of your request for remission must be submitted in writing. If you chose this option, do not send in payment at this time. The Director of the Division of Air Quality (DAQ)will review your evidence and inform you of his decision in the matter of your remission request. The response will provide details regarding the case status, directions for payment, and provision for further appeal of the penalty to the Environmental Management Commission's Committee on Civil Penalty Remissions (Committee). Please be advised that the Committee cannot consider information that was not part of the original remission request considered by the Director. Therefore, it is very important that you prepare a complete and thorough statement in support of your request for remission. In order to request remission,you must complete and submit the enclosed "Request for Remission of Civil Penalties, Waiver of Right to an Administrative Hearing, and Stipulation of Facts"form within thirty(30)days of receipt of this notice. The DAQ also requests that you complete and submit the enclosed 'Justification for Remission Request." Both forms should be submitted to the following address: Ms. Wrigley April 30,2009 Page 3 Enforcement Group-Remission Department of Environment and Natural Resources Division of Air Quality 1641 Mail Service Center Raleigh,NC 27699-1641 OR 3. File a petition for an administrative hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings: If you wish to contest any statement in the attached assessment document you must file a petition for an administrative heating. You may obtain the petition form from the Office of Administrative Hearing (OAH). You must file the petition with the OAH within thirty(30)days of receipt of this notice. 'A petition is considered filed when it is received in the Office of Administrative Hearings during normal office hours. The OAH accepts filings Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., except for official state holidays. The original and one(1) copy of the petition must be filed with the OAH. The petition may be faxed, provided the original and one copy of the document is received in the OAH within five(5)business days following the faxed transmission. The mailing address for the OAH is as follows: Office of Administrative Hearings 6714 Mail Service Center Raleigh, NC 27699-6714 Telephone: (919) 431-3000 Facsimile: (919)431-3100 A copy of the petition must also be served on NCDENR as follows: Mary Penny Thompson, General Counsel North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources 1601 Mail Service Center Raleigh,NC 27699-1601 Please indicate the DAQ case number,as found on Page 1 of this letter,on your petition to OAH. Failure to exercise one of the options above within thirty (30) days of receipt of this letter, as evidenced by an internal date/time received stamp (not a postmark), will result in this matter being referred to the Attorney General's Office for collection of the penalty through a civil action. Please be advised that additional penalties may be assessed if the violations that are the subject of this action have not been corrected. If you have any questions concerning this matter, please contact Betty Gatano at(919) 733-1478. Sincerely,� � � �� Sheila C. Holman Enclosures: Assessment Document cc: Steven F. Vozzo, Supervisor Fayetteville Regional Office Enforcement File (DAQ 2009-049) STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COUNTY OF BLADEN COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF: ) CASE NUMBER 2009-049 E.I.DU PONT DE NEMOURS & CO., LLC ) DBA, DUPONT COMPANY— ) FAYETTEVILLE WORKS ) FOR VIOLATION OF: ) CIVIL PENALTY ASSESSMENT NCGS 143-215.108 "CONTROL OF ) SOURCES OF AIR POLLUTION; ) PERMITS REQUIRED" IN ) CONSTRUCTING AND/OR OPERATING ) AN AIR CONTAMINANT SOURCE ) WITHOUT A PERMIT ) Acting pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes (G.S.) 143-215.114A, I, Sheila C. Holman, Deputy Director of the Division of Air Quality (DAQ), make the following: I. FINDINGS OF FACT: A. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., LLC, dba DuPont Company—Fayetteville Works, is a chemical manufacturing facility operating at 22828 NC Highway 87 West, Duart Township, Bladen County, North Carolina. The facility consists of six individual manufacturing plants, a boiler house and a waste treatment operation. B. DuPont Company—Fayetteville Works holds a Title V Air Permit. The effective permit at the time the violations were discovered was Air Permit No. 03735T33, which was issued on 4 August 2008 with an expiration date of 31 January 2009. C. General Condition 3.A.6. of Air Permit No. 03735T33 states: Any stationary source of air pollution shall not be operated, maintained, or modified without the appropriate and valid permits issued by the DAQ,unless the source is exempted by rule. The DAQ may issue a permit only after it receives reasonable assurance that the installation will not cause air pollution in violation of any of the applicable requirements. A permitted installation may only be operated, maintained, constructed, expanded, or modified in a manner that is consistent with the terms of this permit. D. On 8 December 2008, the Division of Air Quality Fayetteville Regional Office (DAQ FRO) received a Title V Air Permit Modification Application from DuPont Company— Fayetteville Works. The permit application included the addition of three product cylinder decontamination processes that were existing sources with potential to emit greater than five tons of volatile organic compounds (VOC) per year. These sources vent residual product(VOC) to the atmosphere during a purging process of one-ton cylinders • E.I. du Pont de Nemours&Co., LLC dba, DuPont Company—Fayetteville Works DAQ Case No. 2009-049 Page 2 and ISO tank containers that are returned from the customer and reused by DuPont. These operations have always been part of the overall container process. According to the permit application, the actual emissions from the Hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) Product Cylinder Decontamination Process were estimated to be 37.1 tons of VOC during 2008. Potential emissions from this source were calculated to be 100.3 tons of VOC per year. Potential VOC emissions from the Vinyl Ethers North Product Cylinder Decontamination Process and Vinyl Ethers South Product Cylinder Decontamination Process were calculated to be 20.6 tons per year and 10.7 tons per year, respectively. The application also requested a PSD avoidance limit be added to the air permit for the HFPO Product Cylinder Decontamination Process. E. A Notice of Violation/Notice of Recommendation of Enforcement (NOV/NRE) was issued to the facility on 6 January 2009, citing the above violations. The NOV/NRE asked for a description of pollutants being emitted from the aforementioned processes, explanation of how the violation was discovered, start-up dates, and calculated emissions from each source. F. On 21 January 2009, DAQ FRO received a response to the NOV/NRE from DuPont Company-Fayetteville Works. The response indicated that a company engineer realized these sources were unpermitted while reviewing results of a calculation performed to estimate annual losses from the decontamination process. An application was submitted to DAQ following this observation. The pollutants being emitted from these processes are VOC. The Vinyl Ethers North Decontamination process also emits a water-soluble acid fluoride, which is reported as the molar equivalent of hydrogen fluoride. G. According to the NOV/NRE response letter, the startup dates,potential emission estimates, and actual emissions estimates for calendar years 2006, 2007, and 2008 for each of the applicable operations are: Start- Potential 2006 Actual 2007 Actual 2008 Actual Decontamination, VOC VOC VOC VOC Unit up Date Emissions Emissions Emissions Emissions TPY) (TPY) (TPY) (TPY HFPO 1980 100 39.2 36.6 33.8 -Vinyl Ethers North 1980 20.6 3.8 4.8 4.1 -Vinyl Ethers South 1996 15.7 9.2 9.6 9.7 E.I. du Pont de Nemours&Co., LLC dba,DuPont Company—Fayetteville Works DAQ Case No. 2009-049 Page 3 H. Air Permit No. 03735T34, which included the HFPO and Vinyl Ethers North and South Units, was issued on 15 January 2009 with an expiration date of 31 January 2009. I. Air Quality Compliance and Enforcement History. An NOV was issued on November 30, 2007 for failure to submit a complete Part II Title V application for a temporary boiler within twelve months of commencing operation. J. The costs of investigation or inspection in this matter totaled $285. Based upon the above Findings of Fact, I make the following: II. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: A. E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., LLC, dba DuPont Company— Fayetteville Works, was in violation of G.S 143-215.108 "Control of Sources of Air Pollution; Permits Required" for constructing and/or operating three product decontamination units without a permit, as stated in Part I, Findings of Fact, above. B. G.S. 143-215.114A provides that a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars per violation may be assessed against a person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of a permit required by NCGS 143-215.108 or who violates any regulation adopted by the Environmental Management Commission. C. G.S. 143-215.3(a)(9) provides that the costs of any investigation or inspection may be assessed against a person who violates or fails to act in accordance with the terms, conditions, or requirements of a permit required by G.S. 143-215.108 or who violates any regulation adopted by the Environmental Management Commission. Based upon the above Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, I make the following: E.I. du Pont de Nemours&Co., LLC dba,DuPont Company—Fayetteville Works DAQ Case No.2009-049 Page 4 III. DECISION: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., LLC, DBA, DuPont Company—Fayetteville Works is hereby assessed a civil penalty of: $ MD.0D for one (1) violation of G.S. 143-215.108 in constructing and/or operating an air contaminant sources without a permit discovered on 8 December 2008. $ ?mo.Da TOTAL CIVIL PENALTY, which is J Z percent of the maximum penalty authorized by G.S. 143-215.114A. $ 285 Investigation costs $ Z 5.OD TOTAL AMOUNT DUE Pursuant to G.S. 143-215.114A in determining the amount of the penalty, I considered the factors listed in G.S. 143B-282.1(b) and 15A NCAC 2J .0106, which are the following: 1) The degree and extent of harm to the natural resources of the State,to the public health, or to private property resulting from the violation(s); 2) The duration and gravity of the violation(s); 3) The effect on ground or surface water quantity or quality or on air quality; 4) The cost of rectifying the damage; 5) The amount of money saved by noncompliance; 6) Whether the violation was committed willfully or intentionally; 7) The prior record of the violator in complying or failing to comply with programs over which the Environmental Management Commission has regulatory authority; and 8) The cost to the State of the enforcement procedures. 3 ee D I o°I �oJl 4— 0, C I � Date Sheila C. Holman, Deputy Director Division of Air Quality