NEW YORK - Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Slack Chemical Company Inc. to resolve alleged violations of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA) at the company’s facilities in Carthage and Saratoga Springs, New York. The settlement includes a $231,300 civil penalty.
"EPA is working to ensure that regulated facilities comply with the “Right to Know” requirements to ensure companies properly report their storage, use, and releases of certain chemicals to federal, state, tribal, territorial and local governments,” said EPA Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. "These reporting requirements are important because they are used to help communities prepare for and protect against potential risks posed by potentially dangerous chemicals.”
Slack Chemical Company, Inc. is a supplier of bulk chemicals. The company stores, repackages, and distributes bulk chemicals to municipalities and industry across the Northeast from three New York facilities using a substantial delivery fleet of tractor trailers.
According to EPA, the company failed to properly submit forms required by EPA and New York State with information about how much ammonia, methanol, nitric acid, and toluene were managed at and released from the company’s facilities during 2019 and 2021.
Under the terms of the consent agreement and final order with EPA, Slack has voluntarily instituted a corporate compliance plan to prevent recurrence of EPCRA reporting violations. For example, to improve compliance, the company will add a written procedure detailing the steps required to identify Toxic Release Inventory chemicals, calculating reportable quantities and subsequent submittal.
EPCRA increases the public's knowledge and access to information about chemicals at certain regulated facilities which must report on the identity of their chemicals, quantities of chemical releases into the environment, and waste management activities. States and communities, working with facilities, can use the information to improve chemical safety and protect public health and the environment.
For more information about EPA’s enforcement program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/enforcement/basic-information-enforcement
For more information about EPCRA, visit: https://www.epa.gov/epcra
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