Kayem Foods Inc., Chelsea, Mass., will pay a $138,281 civil penalty on Clean Air Act claims that its refrigeration system failed to meet industry safety standards, take adequate precautions, and perform worse-case calculations for an ammonia gas release from its plant, according to Bloomberg Law, citing settlement documents filed on May 16.
The settlement, for which Kayem did not admit liability, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts along with a Justice Department complaint specifying “a number of violations” at the plant identified by EPA during a 2014 inspection.
Federal regulations require that owners or operators of stationary systems containing at least 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia take certain precautions to avoid and mitigate releases of the poisonous gas into the environment. Kayem, a processed meat manufacturer, was potentially liable for a civil penalty of up to $99,681 a day for each violation of the Clean Air Act occurring on or after November 2, 2015, the complaint states.
The seven-count complaint also includes allegations that Kayem failed to develop adequate standards to ammonia deliveries, failed to calibrate its ammonia detection system as recommended, and did not have an adequate community emergency response plan.
The proposed settlement still must be approved by the district court.