The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Hoover Treated Wood Products, Inc. (“Hoover”) entered into a November 19th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged violation of Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission Rule 18. See LIS No. 24-158.
The CAO provides that Hoover owns and operates a treated wood products facility in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
The facility is stated to be subject to the provisions of 40 C.F.R. Part 63, Subpart QQQQQQ – National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Wood Preserving Area Sources.
Hoover is stated to have submitted an Initial Notification of Applicability for Subpart QQQQQ to DEQ on August 28, 2007.
The company in a submittal dated April 3rd, to DEQ requested consideration under the agency’s Environmental Self-Disclosure Incentive Policy (“Policy”) for violations discovered during a voluntary audit by its environmental consultant to determine if the facility had obtained all air permits required under the applicable regulations.
The April 3rd submission stated that the facility failed to obtain a Minor Source Air Permit under Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission Rule 18.301(B). Hoover submitted the environmental audit report on August 8th to DEQ in which the violations were initially discovered.
A review of the submittal is stated to have indicated that the facility failed to obtain a Minor Source Air Permit for the facility. Hoover indicated in its Self-Disclosure submittal that a Minor Source Air Permit application would be submitted. Such application is stated to have been submitted to DEQ on April 15th and deemed administratively complete on April 17th.
DEQ determined that the facility met all eight conditions of the Self-Disclosure Policy and therefore is entitled to a reduction of the gravity-based component of any administrative penalty.
Hoover neither admits nor denies the factual and legal allegations contained in the CAO.
A copy of the CAO can be downloaded here.
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