EPA hits companies in California, Arizona, Nevada with enforcement actions after alleged violations

K2 will provide Contra Costa Health Services with $264,990 worth of emergency response equipment and $98,041 in chlorine emergency responsePhoto byDocumericaonUnsplash

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced a series of enforcement actions aimed at addressing safety deficiencies at eight facilities across Arizona, California, and Nevada.

These facilities store or use certain hazardous chemicals and are required by the Clean Air Act to develop risk management plans to prevent chemical accidents and outline emergency response procedures.

“It’s imperative to the safety of local communities and emergency responders – and it’s the law – that facilities with flammable and toxic chemicals act to prevent accidents and to have proper response procedures in place,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “These enforcement actions represent EPA’s commitment to holding accountable facilities that have failed to follow our nation’s critical chemical safety laws.”

At the K2 Pure Solutions Nocal facility in Pittsburg, California, which manufactures bleach, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid, significant safety issues were identified during an EPA investigation that began in 2020. The investigation revealed incomplete documentation of the facility’s pressure relief system, delayed response to safety recommendations, and inadequate procedures for testing emergency response equipment.

In August 2021, the EPA ordered K2 to address these deficiencies. By April 2024, K2 had mostly complied and entered into a settlement agreement with the EPA. The agreement mandates a civil penalty of $85,189 and requires K2 to:

• Replace instruments in an electrical hazardous area.
• Relocate a chlorine pressure relief device discharge to a safer location.
• Complete and implement safety study results for a dozen safety pressure relief devices.
• Address recent process hazard analysis safety recommendations.
• Update leak repair procedures.
• Certify that testing of all critical interlocks and instruments is current.

As part of a supplemental environmental project (SEP), K2 will provide Contra Costa Health Services with $264,990 worth of emergency response equipment and $98,041 in chlorine emergency response training. This equipment includes devices for detecting and quantifying toxic industrial chemicals, enhancing the preparedness of local emergency responders.

The EPA also assessed penalties against several other facilities for late submissions of their risk management plans (RMPs):

• Tolleson Dairy (Tolleson, Ariz.): $2,000 penalty for processing milk and using anhydrous ammonia.
• Holcim Solutions and Products US, LLC (Garden Grove, Calif.): $2,000 penalty for using toluene diisocyanate in paint and coating manufacturing.
• North Brawley Geothermal Project (Brawley, Calif.): $1,600 penalty for using isopentane in geothermal electric power generation.
• City of Pasadena Water and Power (Pasadena, Calif.): $2,000 penalty for using chlorine in water treatment.
• Hazen Nevada Terminal (Hazen, Nev.): $1,600 penalty for storing propane at a petroleum bulk terminal.
• Carlin Nevada Terminal (Carlin, Nev.): $1,600 penalty for storing propane at a petroleum bulk terminal.
• PPG Reno DC (McCarran, Nev.): $2,000 penalty for storing flammable products at a chemical distribution center.