The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) and American Sugar Refining, Inc., (“ASRI”) entered into an April 14th Settlement addressing alleged violations of a Louisiana Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“LPDES”) permit. See Docket Nos. 2018-7981-DEQ, 2020-5076-DEQ.
The Settlement provides that ASRI owns and/or operates a crystalline cane sugar refinery facility (“Facility”) located in Arabi, Louisiana.
LDEQ is stated to have issued to ASRI the following:
- On September 20, 2017, a Consolidated Compliance Order & Notice of Potential Penalty, Enforcement No. WE-CN-17-00018
- On January 25, 2019, a Consolidated Compliance Order & Notice of Potential Penalty, Enforcement No. WE-CN-18-00625
The alleged violations are stated to be included within the scope of the Settlement.
The alleged failure to comply with a LPDES permit is stated to have been determined by a December 10 ,2019, inspection and a file review of Discharge Monitoring Reports between October 2018 and February 2020. The alleged exceedances of permit effluent limitations are stated to include TSS, BOD, and TOC.
ASRI is stated to deny it committed any violations or that it is liable for any fines, forfeitures, and/or penalties.
A civil penalty of $8,300 is assessed.
A copy of the Settlement can be found here.
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