BY STEVE ZABROSKI, Times of Northwest Indiana Correspondent
HAMMOND | A settlement reached this week between environmental regulators and Jupiter Aluminum Corp. over air pollution violations could spare the processing plant nearly $50 million in fines.
The U.S. Department of Justice was joined on Friday by the state of Indiana and the city of Hammond in its complaint in federal court against the company.
In its 23-count complaint, the U.S. attorney's office alleges Jupiter failed to meet standards of the Clean Air Act by not maintaining pollution control devices since March 2003 in its Woodmar-area plant at 1745-165th St.
The company also exceeded limits on air emissions of potential human carcinogens dioxin and furans, hydrochloric acid, which is corrosive to human skin, eyes and mucous membranes, and particulate releases containing arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury and other metals, according to the complaint.
With potential fines of between $27,500 and $32,500 per day over the allegations, Jupiter could have faced a bill of more than $49 million.
"While Jupiter believes it has defenses which it could have asserted," Jupiter's general counsel Mark Schoenfield said in a statement on Friday, "Jupiter decided to avoid delay to its rebuilding and maintain employment of its workers by agreeing to settle."
A fire in November 2006 destroyed much of Jupiter's production line in Hammond, and Jupiter is in the process of rebuilding its plant while seeking city approval to expand the facility.
Regulators and the company have agreed on a consent decree, a formal promise by the company to remedy past noncompliance and to comply with the Clean Air Act in the future, said Cynthia Magnuson, U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman.
As soon as U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon accepts the inclusion of Indiana and Hammond in the complaint -- which could come as soon as next week -- the consent decree can be launched, she said.
State and city environmental officials said Friday they can't comment on the case until the consent decree is filed in open court.
The main problem, Schoenfield said, was that the plant is in a non-attainment zone for air quality, partly due to emissions from other states, so Jupiter faced technical and paperwork requirements which it would not have had if it were located in many other states.
Schiller Park, Ill.-based Jupiter employs 140 full-time workers at its Hammond facility, with annual sales of around $200 million prior to the 2006 fire.
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