EPA v. E I DU PONT DE NEMOURS LA PORTE PLANT

Case summary

On September 7, 2018, the Court signed the Stipulation of Settlement with the United States and E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Company ( DuPont ), approving the $3.1 million dollar settlement for chemical accident prevention violations at its former La Porte, Texas facility. Previously, on July 23, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a Complaint and a Stipulation of Settlement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas against DuPont. Many of the violations relate to a November 15, 2014 incident in which nearly 24,000 pounds of methyl mercaptan were released within the Lannate? unit at its La Porte, Texas facility. Methyl mercaptan is a highly toxic, highly flammable chemical that can cause asphyxiation. The release resulted in the deaths of four persons inside the Lannate? manufacturing building. The four DuPont employees died from a combination of asphyxia and acute exposure to methyl mercaptan. EPA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the Chemical Safety Board ( CSB ) all conducted inspections or investigations after the incident. The Lannate? unit was shut down after the incident. The CSB issued Interim Recommendations from its investigation on September 30, 2015. DuPont announced that it was closing the facility in March 2016. The Complaint alleges 22 separate violations of the Clean Air Act's Risk Management Program at DuPont's former La Porte, Texas facility. The violations alleged in the Complaint include: (1) failure to develop and implement written operating procedures, (2) failure to adequately implement management of change procedures, (3) failure to implement safe work practices, and (4) mechanical integrity violations. No injunctive relief was required, since the facility is no longer in operation.

Defendants (1)

• E.I. DuPont de Nemours and CompanyNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (2)

• LAPORTE RAIL AND TERMINAL

  12501 STRANG RD, LA PORTE, TX, 77571

  Registry ID: 110000463542

• LAPORTE RAIL AND TERMINAL

  12501 STRANG RD, LA PORTE, TX, 77571

  Registry ID: 110000463542

Statutes cited

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

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• E I DUPONT DE NEMOURS LA PORTE PLANTentered 2018-09-07

  Primary law: CAA

  Federal penalty: $3,100,000

Timeline (8 milestones)

• 2016-12-08Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2017-03-09Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2018-07-23Complaint Filed With Court
• 2018-09-07Final Order Entered
• 2018-09-07Final Order Lodged
• 2018-10-10Concluded
• 2018-10-10Enforcement Action Closed
• 2018-10-10Air Resolved