Honeywell Hopewell Consent Decree Filed
A Consent Decree was filed in federal court on Thursday, March 28, 2013 to settle a lawsuit by the United States and Virginia, against Honeywell Resins and Chemicals LLC, located in Hopewell Virginia. Honeywell has agreed to pay a $3 million civil penalty for alleged Clean Air Act violations at its Hopewell, Va., plant. According to the complaint filed by EPA and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the facility violated Clean Air Act limits on emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx), benzene and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter. The plant also allegedly failed to comply with requirements to upgrade air pollution control equipment, to detect and repair leaks of hazardous air pollutants, and to develop safeguards on benzene waste. In addition to the $3 million civil penalty, which will be split equally between EPA and the Commonwealth of Virginia, Honeywell has agreed to reduce harmful air pollutants, install selective catalytic reduction at four production trains at the facility, conduct third-party benzene waste operations audit, and implement enhanced leak detection and repair program at the facility. The settlement reduces annual emissions of NOx by about 6,260 tons, and cuts annual emissions of benzene, other VOCs and hazardous air pollutants by 100 tons. Honeywell will also perform a mitigation project valued at approximately $1 million at the facility. The estimated cost for injunctive r