On February 22, Louisiana and the U.S. EPA announced that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana has approved a consent decree with Firestone to resolve the company’s alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and other environmental laws at a synthetic rubber manufacturing facility in Sulfur, Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DOJ), on behalf of the U.S. EPA and the Louisiana Department of Environment Quality (LDEQ), filed a complaint and lodged the consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on September 30.
Under the settlement terms, Firestone will install equipment controls to reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants, fund ambient air monitoring system upgrades in several Southwest Louisiana locations, and pay a total of $3.35 million in civil penalties to the U.S. and LDEQ.
“We are always glad to work with our federal partners, the U.S. DOJ and U.S. EPA, to resolve violations,” says LDEQ Secretary Chuck Carr Brown. “We plan to use this penalty and the beneficial environmental project funds from this consent decree to further enhance the environment in Louisiana.”
For more information, see the consent decree here and an EPA press release here.
