St. Paul, Minn.—CHS Inc. reports that it is currently considering a plea with respect to an investigation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. This dates back to a Nov. 21, 2009, incident when a late-night fire destroyed a shop, a warehouse containing some feed, seed, and agronomy products, and part of the office at the Malta, Mont., branch of Milk River Cooperative, a CHS-owned facility. CHS said its local staff worked with local emergency officials to respond in a timely manner in keeping with accepted protocols and in what all parties believed was in the best interests of community health and safety, and to eliminate any environmental impact. There were no injuries, and the fire was extinguished in a short period of time CHS said it promptly notified both the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Montana Department of Emergency Services. All remediation work was overseen by West Central Environmental Consultants and completed under the supervision of the Montana DEQ. However, CHS said a follow-up review by EPA determined that while CHS had notified the required state agencies, notification was not made to the National Response Center, which may or may not have been required depending on whether or not there was a release of a reportable quantity of certain listed chemicals. To date, no formal legal action has been commenced, and CHS said it is cooperating with the federal agencies and is exploring the possibility of a settlement in the form of a possible plea agreement. It expects a plea would require a financial penalty, but that it would not be materially adverse.
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