On March 19, 2021, EPA issued to Gerdau a Finding of Violation (FOV) pertaining to its scrap metal recycling facility in St. Paul, Minnesota. The FOV alleged that Gerdau accepted for recycling small appliances such as refrigerators and room air conditioners that contained or once contained ozone-depleting and substitute refrigerants without either recovering the refrigerant from the items or verifying that the refrigerant had been properly recovered prior to delivery to Gerdau, in violation of regulations found at 40 CFR ? 82.155. Gerdau has since sold the facility; subsequently, EPA has not pursued an ACO with Gerdau for this facility. The CAFO requires Gerdau to pay a penalty of $85,000 and resolves the FOV issued to Gerdau on March 19, 2021.
There are environmental justice concerns associated with this case.