'Embarrassed by our ignorance': Dyno Nobel says it didn't know permit needed to install boiler - NOLA.com

Dyno Noble says it didn't know permit needed to build boiler | Jefferson Parish | nola.com

Taken to task by a legislative committee, officials with Dyno Nobel said they didn’t know they needed a permit from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality before installing a $26 million, natural-gas powered boiler at their ammonia plant on the West Bank of Jefferson Parish.

“We’re extremely embarrassed by our ignorance,” Paul Eagar, a senior vice president at Dyno Nobel, told lawmakers during an oversight hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday.

Dyno Nobel’s decision to illegally construct the greenhouse gas emitting boiler has angered local officials and tarnished the reputation of the Cornerstone Chemical Company, which leases out the land where the ammonia plant is located.

DEQ last month issued a notice of potential penalty to Dyno Nobel for prematurely constructing the boiler. And on Tuesday, state Sen. Patrick Connick, a Marrero Republican, urged state regulators to “hit ‘em hard” with fines.

“What I see is a worldwide, multi-billion-dollar company having total disregard for the people of this state and for the environment of this state,” said Connick, whose district includes Cornerstone’s 800-acre Waggaman complex.

Dyno Nobel applied for a modified air permit in June 2022 to account for the increased sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions that would come from operating the boiler.

With that permit still pending, however, Dyno Nobel installed piles, poured a foundation and mounted the boiler – all of which is prohibited.

Dyno Nobel admitted prematurely installing the boiler in a letter to DEQ on March 17, two days after meeting with state regulators to disclose their transgression in-person.

Despite that admission, neither Dyno Nobel nor DEQ mentioned that the boiler had been built when regulators held a hearing in Waggaman on March 21 to gather input from the public on the permit that would allow construction on the project to move forward.

DEQ Assistant Secretary Bliss Higgins told lawmakers that the team that handled the public hearing likely didn’t know about Dyno Nobel’s disclosure.

DEQ sent a team of inspectors to Dyno Nobel’s ammonia plant on March 23, and on April 17, it issued the notice of potential penalty, listing five different violations. Three of those violations stemmed from a 2018 inspection.

State law caps penalties at $32,500 “for each day of violation,” although violators have the option to propose a settlement agreement.

DEQ Assistant Secretary Celina Cage told lawmakers that “based on feedback so far,” it appears that Dyno Nobel is “willing to reach an agreement to resolve the violations.” Any such settlement would be subject to a 45-day public comment period.

Lisa Karlin, a River Ridge resident active among those concerned about safety and air-quality around the Cornerstone facility, noted that Dyno Nobel shaved roughly nine months off its construction timeline by building the boiler ahead of time.

She suggested regulators prohibit Dyno Nobel from using the boiler for the same period of time, adding that “it needs to be enough of a penalty to discourage others.”

In testimony before lawmakers, Eager said Dyno Nobel believed the modified air permit was only needed to turn on the boiler -- not to construct it.

Eager said the firm experienced a series of personnel changes over the course of the project that compounded issues with regulatory compliance and that “internal processes” have since been put in place.

Jason Slinkard, vice president of Cornerstone, said they’ve mandated Dyno Nobel perform a “detailed root cause analysis” and a “full third-party environmental audit.”

Slinkard said prior to constructing the boiler, Dyno Nobel told Cornerstone “they were fully permitted to execute the work.”

Still, Cornerstone was responsible for obtaining a permit from Jefferson Parish. It didn’t do so until after the parish issued a notice of violation.

“I’m personally very embarrassed by this situation,” Slinkard told lawmakers. “This is a black mark for us.”