Nutrien Ltd., Saskatoon, is being assessed up to $84 million for cleanup work and a $1.5 million civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the Resources Conservation and Recovery Act at the former phosphate operations at its Geismar, La., complex. The agreement was announced on July 14 by state and U.S. EPA officials.
Legacy PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer LP manufactured phosphate products in Louisiana for agriculture and industry from the 1960s to 2018, including phosphoric acid and phosphate fertilizer.
The company must treat more than 1 billion pounds of acidic hazardous process wastewater, which will then be sent to a new water treatment plant. The result “will provide a protective solution for decades to come,” said Chuck Carr Brown, Secretary of Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality.
“This is a very important outcome, as the facility is located in an area prone to hurricanes, and the financial assurance secured will protect taxpayers from paying future closure and cleanup costs,” said Larry Starfield, Acting Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
“Safety and environmental protection are key priorities for Nutrien,” said Richard Holder, General Manager of Nutrien’s Geismar Operations. “We are committed to reducing the environmental impacts of our operations, and to developing products and innovative solutions that help growers enhance their productivity and sustainability.
“We have long been working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to resolve issues relative to legacy phosphate operations at the site in Geismar,” he added. “Those operations were closed in December 2018. These settlements essentially document mitigation efforts that were initiated even before operations ceased.
“These agreements allow us to focus on new projects, like the potential construction at our Geismar site, of the world’s largest clean ammonia plant, and to further reduce our environmental footprint at the site,” he said. “We are proud community members in Louisiana and take our responsibility to care for the environment seriously. As such, we will continue to advance ongoing efforts in an environmentally protective manner. We have worked with state and federal authorities during this process, and these consent decrees and state orders document the resolution of issues arising from that work.”