LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- A Texas-based chemical company will pay $800,000 to the federal government and the state of Kentucky under an agreement to settle accusations of environmental violations at a western Kentucky plant.
Under a consent decree submitted Monday to U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, Westlake Vinyls doesn't admit any wrongdoing or liability. But the Houston-based company agrees to take corrective actions.
Federal and Kentucky environmental officials said in court filings that the company, which has two plants in Calvert City, had hundreds of violations of laws governing clean air and water. The plants produce PVC pipe and related products.
David Hansen, Westlake's vice president for administration, said the alleged violations arose from two inspections by Kentucky and federal environmental regulators.
"The settlement will result in enhanced monitoring of the plants and reduced plant emissions," Hansen said. "Westlake has already implemented several of the changes required by the settlement and has been operating for some time at reduced emission rates."
A message left for the federal Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta was not immediately returned Tuesday.
The federal government will receive $687,500 of the civil penalty, while Kentucky will receive $100,000. Westlake will pay $12,500 to the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a $2.7 billion pool of money the federal government and states use to offset the cost of cleaning up spills, along with research and development.
Among the accusations, some of which are a decade old, are that Westlake improperly disposed of hazardous waste from 1991 through 2003 by storing it above ground without a permit and operating its wastewater stripper improperly 179 times since January 2000.
Federal and state officials say Westlake also didn't have an oil spill prevention and control plan and vented air emissions without minimizing them. The company also failed to report 182 incidents involving waste water and five involving an incinerator where emissions were above the regulated range.
The company was also accused of improper record keeping of startup, shutdowns and malfunctions.
Westlake has 14 other locations across North America and three plants in China. Besides PVC pipe, the company makes vinyls and resins used in bottles, appliance parts, residential siding, credit cards and flexible pipe.
Under a consent decree submitted Monday to U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell, Westlake Vinyls doesn't admit any wrongdoing or liability. But the Houston-based company agrees to take corrective actions.
Federal and Kentucky environmental officials said in court filings that the company, which has two plants in Calvert City, had hundreds of violations of laws governing clean air and water. The plants produce PVC pipe and related products.
David Hansen, Westlake's vice president for administration, said the alleged violations arose from two inspections by Kentucky and federal environmental regulators.
"The settlement will result in enhanced monitoring of the plants and reduced plant emissions," Hansen said. "Westlake has already implemented several of the changes required by the settlement and has been operating for some time at reduced emission rates."
A message left for the federal Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta was not immediately returned Tuesday.
The federal government will receive $687,500 of the civil penalty, while Kentucky will receive $100,000. Westlake will pay $12,500 to the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, a $2.7 billion pool of money the federal government and states use to offset the cost of cleaning up spills, along with research and development.
Among the accusations, some of which are a decade old, are that Westlake improperly disposed of hazardous waste from 1991 through 2003 by storing it above ground without a permit and operating its wastewater stripper improperly 179 times since January 2000.
Federal and state officials say Westlake also didn't have an oil spill prevention and control plan and vented air emissions without minimizing them. The company also failed to report 182 incidents involving waste water and five involving an incinerator where emissions were above the regulated range.
The company was also accused of improper record keeping of startup, shutdowns and malfunctions.
Westlake has 14 other locations across North America and three plants in China. Besides PVC pipe, the company makes vinyls and resins used in bottles, appliance parts, residential siding, credit cards and flexible pipe.
