DES MOINES — The owners of a Council Bluffs ethanol plant have agreed to pay a fine for failing to implement risk management regulations required under the Clean Air Act.
Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy LLC will pay a $10,000 penalty and spend at least $38,000 to buy emergency response equipment for the Council Bluffs and Lewis Township Fire Departments to settle the case with the Environmental Protection Agency.
The EPA said a January 2010 inspection of the plant found no risk management plan on file.
Such a plan is required if more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia, a hazardous chemical, are stored at a plant. The Council Bluffs plant was storing about 28,000 pounds.
The Clean Air Act rules are designed to prevent accidental chemical spills and minimize damage when there is a spill.
— AP
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