Louisville-D.D. Williamson, under the consent decree lodged in August with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, has agreed to pay $600,000 in civil penalties, to be divided equally between the United States and the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District. The complaint, filed against D.D. Williamson, a caramel coloring manufacturer, alleges the company failed to comply with the Clean Air Act and its regulations. A 2003 incident resulted in the death of one employee and the release of an ammonia cloud in a nearby residential neighborhood. The complaint alleges the company failed to comply with both the general duty of care imposed on users of extremely hazardous substances and the chemical accident prevention provisions, also known as the risk management program. After the incident the company took steps to improve its Louisville plant by building a new facility to house its manufacturing operations. It is also required to use an outside engineering consultant to complete a full hazard operability study of manufacturing operations, implement the study’s recommendations, and train its managers in process-hazard assessment techniques.
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