SAN FRANCISCO —The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a series of enforcement actions to address deficiencies in safety plans at eight facilities in Arizona, California and Nevada that store or use certain types of chemicals. The Clean Air Act requires facilities that use extremely hazardous substances to develop and implement risk management plans that identify the potential effects of a chemical accident, steps the facility is taking to prevent an accident, and emergency response procedures should an accident occur.
“It’s imperative to the safety of local communities and emergency responders – and it’s the law – that facilities with flammable and toxic chemicals act to prevent accidents and to have proper response procedures in place,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “These enforcement actions represent EPA’s commitment to holding accountable facilities that have failed to follow our nation’s critical chemical safety laws.”
At the K2 Pure Solutions Nocal facility in Pittsburg, Calif., which manufactures bleach, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid, EPA found significant safety issues during an investigation that began in 2020. These issues included an incomplete documentation of the facility’s pressure relief system, failure to address the safety recommendations in a timely manner and inadequate procedures for testing of emergency response equipment.
In August 2021, EPA ordered the facility to address the deficiencies identified during the inspection, which K2 has mostly since done. In April 2024, EPA reached a settlement agreement with K2 that requires the company to pay a $85,189 civil penalty and address remaining deficiencies. That work includes:
- Replacing instruments in an electrical hazardous area;
- Moving a chlorine pressure relief device discharge location to a safe location;
- Completing and implementing the results of a safety study on discharge locations for a dozen safety pressure relief devices;
- Addressing safety recommendations from recent process hazards analyses;
- Updating leak repair procedures;
- Certifying that all critical interlocks and instruments testing is current.
Under the agreement, K2 will also provide Contra Costa Health Services with emergency response resources through a supplemental environmental project (SEP). The SEP includes $264,990 in emergency response equipment, including devices for the detection, identification, and quantification of toxic industrial chemicals, and $98,041 in chlorine emergency response training. Both of these projects will provide needed equipment and training for local responders near the K2 facility.
EPA also assessed penalties to the following facilities that were late in submitting RMPs:
- Tolleson Dairy (Tolleson, Ariz.); $2,000 penalty; the facility, which is owned by Kroger Company, processes milk and uses anhydrous ammonia.
- Holcim Solutions and Products US, LLC (Garden Grove, Calif.): $2,000 penalty; the facility is involved in paint and coating manufacturing and uses toluene diisocyanate.
- North Brawley Geothermal Project (Brawley, Calif.); $1,600 penalty; the facility is a geothermal electric power generating plant and uses isopentane.
- City of Pasadena Water and Power (Pasadena, Calif.); $2,000 penalty; the facility is a water treatment plant that uses chlorine.
- Hazen Nevada Terminal (Hazen, Nev.): $1,600 penalty; the facility is a petroleum bulk terminal owned by South 49 Holdings that stores propane.
- Carlin Nevada Terminal (Carlin, Nev.): $1,600 penalty; the facility is a petroleum bulk terminal owned by South 49 Holdings that stores propane.
- PPG Reno DC (McCarran, Nev.): $2,000 penalty; the facility is a chemical distribution center that stores flammable products.
Learn about the National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives on reducing risks of accidental releases at industrial and chemical facilities.
Learn about EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.