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The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment - Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Nucor Corporation (“Nucor”) entered into an October 14th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing alleged violations of an Air Permit. See LIS No. 24-150.
The CAO provides that Nucor owns and operates a scrap steel mill (“Facility”) located in Blytheville, Arkansas.
The Facility is stated to hold an Air Permit.
DEQ personnel are stated to have conducted a review of an Annual Compliance Certification (“ACC”) Nucor submitted on October 31, 2023.
The ACC report is stated to have indicated that beginning on November 21, 2022, the Facility failed to conduct and maintain records of the daily pressure drop readings at SN-55 for 99 days, allegedly violating Specific Condition 97 of Permit R27 and Specific Condition 96 of Permit R28.
The ACC report is also stated to have indicated that beginning on February 1, 2023, the Facility failed to operate emission monitoring equipment within the design limitations by installing incorrect drift eliminators at SN-49 for 180 days. This is stated to have created an inaccurate efficiency limit in the Permit, violating Specific Condition 102 of Permit R28, Specific Condition 105 of Permit R29, and Plantwide Condition 5 of Permits R28 and R29. In addition, the ACC report is stated to have indicated that the Facility failed to conduct annual observations of opacity at certain SNs designated in Paragraph 14, violating Specific Condition 126 of Permit R27.
In response to a DEQ query, Nucor provided the following regarding the violations:
- Specific Condition 126 of Permit R27: Respondent added an annual task to its database to conduct opacity observations. The required 2023 opacity monitoring has been completed with no opacity exceedances. Generator maintenance has been performed over the life of each engine.
- Specific Condition 97 of Permit R27 and Specific Condition 96 of Permit R28: Respondent added a daily and monthly task to a database to record and review pressure drop data. Pressure drop readings are recorded and reviewed.
- Specific Condition 102 of Permit R28, Specific Condition 105 of Permit R29, and Plantwide Condition 5 of Permits R28 and R29: Respondent ordered and installed the correct drift eliminators that meet the BACT requirements.
Nucor requested that DEQ consider a Supplemental Environmental Project proposal for cleanup for the Blytheville, Manila, and Leachville communities in Mississippi County.
The CAO provides that Nucor neither admits nor denies the factual and legal allegations contained in the CAO.
The CAO requires that within 30 calendar days of its effective date, Nucor submit pressure drop records for SN-55. Further, such records are required to be submitted on a monthly basis for a period of three months beginning with the month following the effective date of the CAO.
A civil penalty of $9,282.00 is assessed. Further, the total expenditure of the Supplemental Environmental Project shall not be less than $4,998.00. The CAO requires that Nucor provide certain information regarding the Supplemental Environmental Project such as a project schedule and completion report.
A copy of the CAO can be downloaded here.
