EPA probe of fertilizer plant puzzles locals

Deer Island, Ore. — Environmental Protection Agency Region 10 officials have confirmed that a criminal investigation is being conducted into ammonia leaks in 2010 at Dyno Nobel’s Deer Island fertilizer plant, but won’t provide any details about how long the investigation has been going on or when it is expected to be completed. “If we were finalizing the investigation we would submit a press release, and apparently it has not reached that stage as yet,” Wally Moon, EPA Region remedial project manager, told Green Markets. He declined to provide any further information. At the same time, many of those on the local scene are wondering what all the fuss is about, although the local Willamette Weekly reported that plant manager Greg Godfrey informed his employees that if they are contacted about the situation they should refer questions to the company’s attorney. The operator at the plant declined to connect Green Markets calls with the manager, and calls to Dyno Nobel’s headquarters in Salt Lake City were not returned. Division Chief Ron Youngberg with the Columbia River Fire and Rescue told Green Markets that over the years there have been several leakages of ammonia, but they have been mostly minor, and that over his 30 years with the department there has never been a situation where citizens have had to evacuate the area. “The releases I have been involved with have been mostly connected to power outages or starting up the plant,” Youngberg reported. “There have been small releases that have been brought under control, and none of them involved the fire department. EPA just made contact with us several weeks ago, and I haven’t heard from them since.” Youngberg added that the plant has been under several different owners, and is a solid operation under Dyno Nobel. The plant manager did tell the press that EPA criminal investigators interviewed workers Jan. 23 about the leak, adding that “because it’s a criminal case, I’m assuming that they think we intentionally violated the law, which isn’t the case.”