LEWISTON, Idaho — Clearwater Paper has been fined for failing to report their disposal of chlorine emissions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the company's Lewiston, Idaho, location will have to pay a combined sum of $367,088 in penalties.
The penalties were due to the company's failure to properly report the releases of hazardous chlorine emissions in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
Many unexpected chlorine gas releases occurred at Clearwater's Lewiston facility, which resulted in hundreds of pounds of the chemical being emitted into the air, according to the EPA.
Some of these chlorine gas releases resulted in facility evacuations and even resulted in some employees seeking medical attention after prolonged exposure, said the EPA.
“Communities and first responders near facilities using deadly chemicals have a need and a legal right to know when releases occur,” said EPA Region 10 Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Director Ed Kowalski. “These are not simple paperwork issues; the safety of workers, first responders, and residents rests on a company’s compliance with these requirements.”
According to a press release, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act gave the company a $84,769 penalty. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA) gave the company a $237,319 penalty. These penalties were because of the company's failure to immediately notify officials as well as not providing timely follow-up reports of these releases.
The company was also given an additional penalty of $45,000 under EPCRA, for failure to report the numerous releases under its annual Toxics Release Inventory reporting.
More details can be found in these documents:
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