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Jun 05, 2023

IDEM: Blue Grass Chemical Specialties violated emission standards

NEW ALBANY — Officials are expressing concerns after repeated chemical emissions at a New Albany plant, an issue that has led to scrutiny from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. On

NEW ALBANY — Officials are expressing concerns after repeated chemical emissions at a New Albany plant, an issue that has led to scrutiny from the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

On Thursday afternoon, emergency crews responded to a yellow plume emitted from Blue Grass Chemical Specialties, located in the industrial park off of Mount Tabor Road. The company shut down part of its plant following the incident.

According to IDEM, the company was recently found in violation of emission standards due to processes resulting in the release of nitrogen oxide, or NOx. An enforcement case is pending due to violations found during a June 20 inspection.

Thursday’s incident mirrors similar emissions of NOx from Blue Grass that occurred in March and June.

On Friday, IDEM Public Information Officer Barry Sneed provided an emailed statement regarding Thursday’s incident at Blue Grass. He said that the facility operations that resulted in the release “were, and remain, shut down as the cause is being investigated.”

“As part of their permit with IDEM, Blue Grass Chemical is required to report emissions that deviate from emission standards of the Clean Air Act,” Sneed said. “ IDEM will subsequently review reports and take appropriate action in the case of any violations.”

“IDEM Office of Air Quality staff is in communication with Blue Grass Chemical representatives to determine necessary control measures to ensure operations remain in compliance with the facility’s air permit.”

In a Thursday news release, New Albany Mayor Jeff Gahan described the repeated emissions as “alarming.”

“They disrupt traffic, panic residents and force emergency personnel to respond,” he said.

Blue Grass President Matt Brenner said in a statement on the company’s website that Thursday’s emission was related to one of the reactors releasing NOx “beyond the amount our scrubber system could handle, leaving a yellow plume that eventually made its way out of our plant.”

He said the NOx is a “common byproduct of the standard chemical process” at the company, which produces metal nitrate solutions. He noted that the company has “voluntarily shut down all of the affected processes and will not operate them again until the root cause of the emission is found and internal processes are changed.”

“Our team acted swiftly and effectively to contain and resolve the reaction issue, and we are grateful to report that there were no injuries to our employees and the plume was deemed not harmful by safety officials. We are complying with the standards of Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and are conducting a thorough internal review to determine the cause of the incident.”

Brenner said that “the safety of our employees, the surrounding community, and the environment is our top priority.”

On July 17, IDEM Southeast Regional Director Mark Amick sent a letter to Paul McCauley, the executive vice president of Blue Grass, to provide notice of violations found during a June 20 inspection.

The letter was published on IDEM’s Virtual File Cabinet, a public database. Amick notified the company that the violations would result in a formal enforcement referral from IDEM.

The letter states that the company “failed to control NOx emissions” through a ferric nitrate reaction process in violation of its permit conditions. About 287 pounds of NOx were released in 46 minutes on March 14, according to the report.

The company also failed to control emissions on June 6 through the same reaction process. Blue Grass found that “due to an insufficient amount of hydrogen peroxide in the scrubber solution, a release of NOx emissions occurred from a currently unidentified wet scrubber,” according to the IDEM letter.

The company failed to operate these scrubbers “in a manner sufficient to maintain compliance with the NOx emissions limitation,” Amick said.

“Based on information obtained at the time of the inspection, Blue Grass Chemical Specialties, LLC, stated that on June 6, 2023, due to an insufficient amount of hydrogen peroxide in the scrubber solution, NOx emissions were not properly controlled, which allowed for uncontrolled emissions to be released to the atmosphere,” Amick said in the letter.

State Rep. Ed Clere, R-New Albany, said he has been communicating with IDEM since March regarding his concerns about the plant’s NOx emissions, and constituents have expressed “ongoing concerns.”

Clere said he “appreciates IDEM’s involvement” in investigating the matter, and he has asked the department to consider taking a “broader look at the plant” to “put to rest concerns that people have about what’s going on out there.”

“That means going beyond the processes that led to the most recent discharge,” he said. “So I’m going to stay in communication with IDEM and make sure they’ve taken a thorough look at everything out there.

“Although I appreciate that the company has shut down the processes that caused the discharges, I’m concerned about what else may be going on at the plant,” Clere said. “I’m not saying there are other problems, but I’d like for IDEM to take a more exhaustive look at the plant and all of the other processes and activities that go on there to make sure there aren’t any other deficiencies now that we’ve seen something that has become a pattern of behavior rather than a one-time incident.”

He said he is particularly concerned that the incident occurred so soon after the IDEM’s inspection and notification of the company’s violation.

Floyd County Commissioner Al Knable posted Thursday on Facebook about the incident. He said he shares “everyone’s relief that there have been no apparent injuries reported,” but he expressed his concerns about the repeated emissions at Blue Grass.

“Secondly, though I value [Blue Grass] Chemical Company’s presence in our County and though we have been repeatedly assured that these releases pose no direct risk to our public health, they are undeniably taxing in regard to the heightened anxiety, ensuing traffic snarls and first responder resources that are put into action and potential jeopardy with each event,” Knable wrote.

Knable has reached out to local agencies and officials on the matter. He said U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin “has pledged her office’s full support in investigating this matter further in hopes of minimizing — hopefully eliminating — any future episodes.”

He also talked to staff members representing U.S. Sen. Mike Braun and Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, who have “also pledged assistance.”

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