On September 20, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon Portland Division entered a Consent Decree resolving violations of the emergency notification requirements of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA); the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) reporting Requirements of EPCRA; and the risk management program requirements of Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 112(r)(7). The violations occurred at Dyno Nobels ammonia and nitric acid manufacturing plant located near St. Helens, Oregon.
The complaint, filed concurrently with the June 24, 2019 lodging of the Consent Decree, alleges that Dyno Nobel failed to immediately report two large ammonia releases at the facility, one of 24.6 tons over six days in 2010 and one of 6.6 tons over three days in 2015, in violation of the emergency notification requirements of CERCLA and EPCRA. In addition, the complaint alleges that Dyno Nobel substantially underreported continuous ammonia releases from a specific point source at the facility, in violation of the requirements for reporting continuous releases under CERCLA and EPCRA and also in violation of the TRI reporting requirements under EPCRA. Finally, the complaint alleges that Dyno Nobel failed to comply with numerous risk management program requirements, including: failure to compile all required safety information; failure to develop and implement written operating procedur