Andersons agree to $1.7 million settlement with EPA over toxic chemical violations

Aug. 19—The Andersons Marathon Holdings LLC has to pay over $1.7 million after reaching a settlement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The settlement concerns toxic chemical reporting violations at all four of the company's locations, including the ethanol production facility in Cass County.

According to court dockets, the facilities failed to file reports on the release of some toxic chemicals and made significant estimation errors on other reports. The EPA alleged that from 2015 to 2019, The Andersons had 99 violations between their Indiana, Ohio, and Iowa plants and 32 violations in Michigan.

Companies that work with toxic chemicals are required to fill out forms that describe how the chemical is used and how much is released. According to the EPA's website, "... a 'release' of a chemical generally refers to a chemical that is emitted to the air, discharged to water, or disposed of in some type of land disposal unit."

The Cass County facility was credited with 25 violations. Many of the violations were for failing to report how much of a specific chemical was released or transferred the year before. In some cases, the facility filed reports for certain chemicals but severely underestimated the amount released.

Ammonia was underestimated every year from 2015 to 2019. In 2015, the company reported that it released or transferred only 10 pounds of ammonia when it actually released or transferred 10,874 pounds.

"The Andersons Marathon Holdings (TAMH) identified certain deficiencies in its Toxic Release Inventory reporting and submitted revisions to the EPA on its own initiative, leading to additional review by the EPA and the recently announced settlement," The Andersons company spokesperson wrote to the Pharos-Tribune through email. "The Andersons is committed to legal and regulatory compliance and is glad TAMH has been able to resolve this issue with the U.S. EPA."

Other toxic chemicals not reported on or underestimated at the Cass County facility include acetaldehyde, benzene, formic acid, toluene, n-Hexane, and ethylbenzene. Exposure to high amounts of those chemicals can cause symptoms like headaches, drowsiness, burning in the nose, throat and eyes, coughing, nausea, vomiting, trouble breathing.

In an effort to keep the public informed about toxic chemicals and pollution in their communities, the EPA created a program to search for companies that report the use of toxic chemicals called Toxics Release Inventory Program. It can be found on the EPA's website at https://www.epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program.

According to an EPA press release, the settlement is the largest amount the EPA has ever received through Toxics Release Inventory reporting violations and Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act violations. The settlement specifies that The Andersons have a month to pay the $1.7 million.

"EPA is committed to protecting people from pollution and taking action to ensure facilities are reporting releases in an accurate and timely fashion as required by law," Larry Starfield, acting assistant administrator for the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in the release. "This settlement ensures the communities surrounding the four facilities have the best available information that they deserve and empowers them to act at a local level when necessary."