DOVER – DNREC Secretary Shawn M. Garvin has issued a Notice of Conciliation and Administrative Penalty Assessment Order to MEDAL Air Liquide to resolve compliance issues with state regulations governing air pollution at the company’s Delaware facility. The order for MEDAL Air Liquide calls for a cash penalty of $80,000, and an additional $4,000 as cost recovery reimbursement to DNREC associated with the Department’s investigation.
MEDAL Air Liquide owns and operates a plant in Newport, Del. that produces semi-permeable hollow fiber polymeric gas-separation membranes used in a variety of applications, such as air separation, industrial inerting processes and hydrogen purification in petroleum refining, enabling low-sulfur fuels.
On May 31, 2018, internal review of emissions for all operations onsite resulted in the discovery that MEDAL Air Liquide had exceeded its daily volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions limit permitted by DNREC. Facility representatives informed the Department of the VOC exceedances on June 18, 2018. The facility has reduced its operations to comply with permitted VOC limits while negotiating the Conciliation Order with the Department.
The Secretary’s Order addresses the air pollution compliance issues at the facility, and lays out a schedule for MEDAL Air Liquide to return to compliance that includes the application for and construction of a new thermal oxidizer – a control device that will ultimately result in a long-term reduction of emissions while allowing the facility to expand production.
The DNREC conciliation notice and Secretary’s Order also address both environmental benefits and the business needs of the Newport facility, enabling expansion and profitability for MEDAL Air Liquide in Delaware, while ensuring that the company reduces its environmental impacts.
The Notice of Conciliation and Administrative Penalty Assessment Order can be found on the DNREC website at
http://www.dnrec.delaware.gov/Info/Pages/SecOrders_Enforcement.aspx.
Media contact: Michael Globetti, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902
Vol. 49, No. 20
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