EPA v. E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, La Porte Works (HQ Lead)

Case summary

The proposed Consent Decree resolves Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) violations concerning the identification, treatment, storage and disposal of hazardous waste, non-compliance with the Clean Water Act (CWA) requirements to implement secondary containment for oil-containing transformers and Clean Air Act (CAA) violations of the National Emission Standards for Organic Hazardous Air Pollutants for Pesticide Active Ingredients Production. The bulk of the violations stemmed from the company's chemical manufacturing operations and affected some of the wastewater treatment units. However, DuPont ceased chemical manufacturing operations at La Porte in 2014 and currently only operates the wastewater treatment system for tenant operators. Under the proposed settlement, DuPont has agreed to characterize all of the waste streams that enter the wastewater treatment system and investigate the extent of contamination of sediments and soils, and, conduct remediation, if necessary, in accordance with the Texas Risk Reduction Program; certify that its Biological Water Treatment Unit complies with the PAI MACT and re-evaluate and verify compliance with secondary containment for the diesel storage tank area and for any oil-containing transformers; and, submit their current SPCC plan for DuPont operations and verify compliance with the secondary containment standards and their SPCC plan.

Defendants (1)

• E.I. du Pont de Nemours and CompanyNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• DUPONT LA PORTE PLANT

  12501 STRANG RD, LA PORTE, TX, 77572-0347

  Registry ID: 110000463542

• DUPONT LA PORTE PLANT

  12501 STRANG RD, LA PORTE, TX, 77572-0347

  Registry ID: 110000463542

Statutes cited

• CAA 112 — Hazardous Air Pollutants
• CAA 111 — New Source Performance Standards
• CWA 311J — SPCC and/or Federal Response Plan Violations
• RCRA 3008A — Compliance Order: Injunctive & Penalty

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, La Porte Works (HQ Lead)entered 2020-09-24

  Primary law: RCRA

  Federal penalty: $1,710,000 · State/local: $1,710,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2010-01-13Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2010-02-02Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2020-07-09Final Order Lodged
• 2020-07-09Complaint Filed With Court
• 2020-09-24Final Order Entered