The Arkansas Department of Energy & Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Envirapac Monticello, LLC (“EML”) entered into a January 9th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of an air permit. See LIS No. 24-009.
The CAO provides that EML owns and operates a powdered activated carbon from round wood production facility (“Facility”) in Monticello, Arkansas.
The Facility holds an air permit.
DEQ personnel are stated to have conducted a complaint investigation and partial compliance evaluation (“PCE”) of the EML Facility on February 7, 2023. The Facility is stated to have indicated during the PCE that they operated the entire process, including milling and packaging from January 17, 2023, through January 26, 2023, and again from February 4, 2023, through February 7, 2023.
The CAO states that during the PCE it was found that the duct for the Carbonization Reactor #1 was operating in a state of disrepair. This is alleged to violate Condition 9 of the air permit.
Further, the CAO provides that during the PCE it was determined that the duct for the Carbonization Reactor #2 fan, although not in operation at the time of the complaint investigation and PCE, was not properly sealed off from the active processes, allowing fugitive emissions to become airborne. This is alleged to violate Specific Condition 5 of the air permit.
EML submitted a response to a DEQ query regarding these compliance issues on April 3, 2023, that provided the following information:
- Regarding the violation outlined in Paragraph 10 of the Findings of Fact, Respondent provided that a capital project aimed at solving the issues leading to material and gas leaks from the uphill seal of the rotary drums at Rl-SN-08 was completed and that during testing of the newly installed upgrade, no visible emissions of gas or material from the uphill seal of the rotary drum was observed.
- Regarding the violation outlined in Paragraph 11 of the Findings of Fact, Respondent stated that the block-off flange used on the fan of RI-SN-09 during the inspection has been removed and sealed with appropriate gasket material, and plant technicians have been advised to identify and repair leaks observed during walkthrough inspections.
EML neither admits nor denies the factual and legal allegations contained in the CAO.
A civil penalty of $2,180 is assessed.
A copy of the CAO can be downloaded here.
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