According to an EPA announcement, Cascades’ Boxboard Group has agreed to pay a penalty of $78,000 and spend $40,000 to improve local emergency capabilities in order to resolve EPA claims that it violated federal community right-to-know laws over its recycled paperboard mill in Sprague, Conn.
According to the agreement signed April 14, EPA’s New England office alleged that Cascades Boxboard Group failed to file a chemical inventory form for the year 2006 for sulfuric acid stored at the facility. Sulfuric acid is considered to be an “extremely hazardous substance” under federal regulations and Cascades stored 57 times the minimum threshold level.
This violation of the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act was discovered during an EPA inspection in Sept. 2008. EPA also alleged that Cascades Boxboard Group failed to file four Toxic Chemical Release Inventory forms, which are required for chemicals at the facility. These violations were discovered after EPA’s inspectors noticed the company had not submitted the forms for 2007.
The environmental project will pay for emergency response equipment and training for the town of Sprague and other area emergency response units. It also requires Cascades to conduct a large-scale chemical spill exercise to gauge emergency preparedness and identify areas needing improvement.
Cascades filed the required Tier II forms for 2008 and 2009. The company also submitted the missing required Forms.
EPA Fines Connecticut Boxboard Mill
Cascades Boxboard fined $78,000 over environmental reporting violations.