EPA v. Georgia-Pacific-Crossett, AR-Air Toxics Consent Decree-FY2020

Case summary

On June 5, 2020, the court entered the amended consent decree resolving Clean Air Act ( CAA ) violations at Georgia-Pacific's (GP) chemical and paper/pulp plants located in Crossett, Arkansas. The amended consent decree resolves the United States' and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality's claims under Sections 113(b)(2) and 112(r) of the CAA, as well as Arkansas Code Annotated 8-4-103 et seq. The original CD was lodged on December 14, 2018. In June of 2019, GP announced that it would be closing a large portion of the pulp mill, resulting in the need for an Amended CD. The Amended CD was lodged on February 3, 2020 and had a 30-day public comment period. Under the terms of the Amended Consent Decree, GP will pay a penalty of $600,000 and will implement 3 new SEPs to replace those under the superseded 2018 lodged Consent Decree. These new SEPs are, as with the original Decree, valued at approximately $1.8 million in total. The State of Arkansas joined in the suit and will receive half of the $600,000 penalty. This settlement is the result of years of cross-divisional collaboration and Environmental Justice communication.

Defendants (1)

• Georgia-Pacific LLCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (6)

• GEORGIA-PACIFIC CROSSETT LLC

  100 MILL SUPPLY ROAD, CROSSETT, AR, 71635

  Registry ID: 110000450921

• GEORGIA-PACIFIC CROSSETT LLC

  100 MILL SUPPLY ROAD, CROSSETT, AR, 71635

  Registry ID: 110000450921

• BAKELITE CHEMICALS LLC.

  124 PAPER MILL ROAD, CROSSETT, AR, 71635

  Registry ID: 110043787499

• GEORGIA-PACIFIC CROSSETT LLC

  100 MILL SUPPLY ROAD, CROSSETT, AR, 71635

  Registry ID: 110000450921

• BAKELITE CHEMICALS LLC.

  124 PAPER MILL ROAD, CROSSETT, AR, 71635

  Registry ID: 110043787499

• GEORGIA-PACIFIC CROSSETT LLC

  100 MILL SUPPLY ROAD, CROSSETT, AR, 71635

  Registry ID: 110000450921

Statutes cited

• CAA 112[R][7] — Prevention of Accidental Release/Risk Management Plans (RMPs)
• CAA 112D — MACT Standards
• CAA 111 — New Source Performance Standards

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Georgia-Pacific-Crossett, AR-Air Toxics Consent Decree-FY2020entered 2020-06-05

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $300,000 · State/local: $300,000 · SEP: $1,800,000

Timeline (8 milestones)

• 2016-09-20Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2016-10-12Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2018-12-14Complaint Filed With Court
• 2018-12-14Final Order Lodged
• 2020-06-05Final Order Entered
• 2022-11-29Concluded
• 2022-11-29Air Resolved
• 2024-05-08Enforcement Action Closed