EPA v. TAYLOR FARMS

Case summary

On September 13, 2023, a Consent Decree was entered resolving a civil judicial case against Taylor Farms New England, Inc. for alleged violations of Clean Air Act Section 112(r)'s risk management planning (RMP) regulations and EPCRA Section 312 at the company's North Kingstown, Rhode Island facility. EPA inspected the company, which uses anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant, to support local emergency planners and observed that the facility's evaporators lacked protection from forklift strikes. A few months later, an ammonia release occurred when a forklift struck an unprotected evaporator. Hundreds of employees were evacuated, and 14 were sent to the hospital for evaluation. The Consent Decree requires Taylor Farms to (a) pay $650,000 in civil penalties; (b) perform third-party audits at 19 other facilities in the corporate family to assess compliance with minimum safety standards; (c) certify that it has corrected the alleged violations in the complaint; (d) assess climate hazards and employee language barriers; (e) add three ammonia detectors on the roof of the Rhode Island facility; and (f) institute a corporate-wide tracking system to better monitor RMP and EPCRA deadlines. EPA has notified State, local and other federal agencies of the settlement. The facility is located in an area of environmental justice concern. On July 26, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lodged a proposed Consent Decree, resolving a civil judicial case against Taylor Farms New England, Inc. for violations of Section 112(r) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) and Section 312 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) at its North Kingstown, Rhode Island facility. DOJ simultaneously filed the complaint. The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. The company uses anhydrous ammonia as a refrigerant, which subjects it to the CAA's chemical accident prevention regulations, found at 40 C.F.R. Part 68, and to regulations promulgated under EPCRA. The proposed Consent Decree will require Taylor Farms to (a) pay $650,000 in civil penalties; (b) perform third-party audits at 19 other facilities in the corporate family to assess compliance with the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration's standard for minimum safety requirements at existing closed-circuit refrigeration systems (ANSI/IIAR 9); (c) certify that it has corrected the alleged violations in the complaint; (d) assess climate hazards and employee language barriers when conducting its next process hazard analysis at the Rhode Island facility in 2024; (e) add three ammonia detectors on the roof of the Rhode Island facility; and (f) institute a tracking system to better monitor risk management program (RMP) and EPCRA deadlines across facilities in the corporate family. CAA 112(r) and EPCRA are direct implementation programs, but EPA will notify its state, federal, and local partners upon lodging the Consent Decree. According to EPA's EJ Screen application, the facility is in a census block group where four Primary EJ Indexes are over the 80th percentile range. However, there are very few residents in this census block because it is primarily an industrial park. EPA's more significant EJ concern with this facility is that employees may be vulnerable due to language barriers. EPA has translated press materials into Spanish

Defendants (1)

• Taylor Farms New England, Inc.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• TAYLOR FARMS

  320 COMMERCE PARK ROAD, NORTH KINGSTOWN, RI, 02852

  Registry ID: 110063753567

Statutes cited

• CAA 112[R][7] — Prevention of Accidental Release/Risk Management Plans (RMPs)

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• TAYLOR FARMSentered 2023-09-13

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $650,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2021-09-27Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2021-10-05Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2023-04-25Complaint Filed With Court
• 2023-07-26Final Order Lodged
• 2023-09-13Final Order Entered