Council Bluffs, Iowa — Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy LLC has agreed to pay a $10,150 civil penalty and spend at least $38,729 on a supplemental environmental project for failing to file a risk management plan and implement risk management regulations required for storing anhydrous ammonia in excess of the 10,000-pound limitation at its dry-mill ethanol plant here. “We now have everything filed and are fully in compliance in meeting the risk management plan requirement,” General Manager Brian Cahill told Green Markets. The plant produces over 110 million gallons of ethanol per year for consumption all over the country. EPA said the Council Bluffs facility was required to file a risk management plan because it had exceeded the 10,000-pound threshold for anhydrous ammonia used in the fermentation process by storing at the time of the inspection approximately 28,000 pounds. As part of its settlement with EPA, Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy has agreed to perform a supplemental environmental project, spending at least $38,729 to purchase emergency response equipment for the Council Bluffs and Lewis Township fire departments.
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