BY STEVE ZABROSKI, Times of Northwest Indiana Correspondent
HAMMOND | Jupiter Aluminum Corp. has agreed to pay more attention to air emissions from its Woodmar recycling facility and a $2 million civil penalty in a settlement with federal, state and city regulators announced on Tuesday.
A 23-count complaint filed last week by the U.S. Department of Justice alleged Jupiter failed to meet standards of the Clean Air Act by not maintaining pollution control devices in its facility at 1745-165th St., and for exceeding limits on air releases of potential human carcinogens and other toxic chemicals.
"While Jupiter Aluminum has not been technically perfect, including paperwork requirements, the company has never endangered anyone's health," Jupiter's general counsel Mark Schoenfield said Tuesday.
With possible violations listed in the federal complaint dating back to March 2003, the company faced potential fines totaling more than $49 million.
The $2 million penalty will be shared between the federal government and the Hammond Department of Environmental Management, "a recognition that HDEM invested a significant amount of time and effort in investigating this case," said Ronald Novak, HDEM executive director.
"Today's settlement is an example of the good that can come from the cooperation of federal, state and local government," said Ryan Nelson, deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division.
The agreement requires Jupiter to test pollution control equipment on its main melting furnaces, recently rebuilt after a devastating 2006 fire, for adequate capture of dioxin/furans, hydrochloric acid and particulate matter, and to modify the equipment if emissions are not within all applicable legal limits.
The company must also pay for an independent monitoring consultant to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Indiana Department of Environmental Management and HDEM in keeping track of Jupiter's compliance with the consent decree.
In addition, Jupiter will have to improve its maintenance and record-keeping practices and allow HDEM to install and operate a video monitoring system to continuously record furnace operations at the facility, as part of the agreement.
"The key here is trying to improve air quality by meeting federal requirements," Novak said. "We want to make sure the community is protected."
The consent decree between Jupiter and the United States, and co-plaintiffs the state of Indiana and the city of Hammond, is the first to be brought in federal court to enforce 2003 National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants regulations for secondary aluminum production facilities.
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