ReMuriate Agrees to $302,109 EPA Penalty Over Alleged Air Violations

The submitted averages were sometimes far above the limits

ReMuriate’s 2014 permit set three relevant emission limits for its acid regeneration system: HCl could not exceed an outlet concentration of 25 ppm, chlorine could not exceed 6 ppm, and particulate emissions could not exceed 2.57 pounds per hour.

Ratios are calculated from figures in the order and rounded to two decimal places. Parts per million is abbreviated as ppm. The particulate result came from a Method 5 test, while the HCl and chlorine figures came from Method 26A tests.

EPA asked for daily-check records. ReMuriate said it had none to provide.

The permit did not rely only on occasional stack testing. When its iron oxide material-handling operation was running, ReMuriate was required to check every day for visible particulate emissions from associated baghouse stacks and for fugitive particulate emissions from egress points. The presence or absence of visible emissions had to be entered in an operations log.

During its June 2022 inspection, EPA requested opacity or visible-emissions records and other operating records. According to the settlement, ReMuriate responded that it had no responsive documents.

EPA alleged that the company failed to perform and record both categories of daily checks from March 9, 2020, through June 8, 2022. Because the matter settled without adjudication, the final order records that claim as an allegation, not as a litigated factual finding.

• The baghouse-stack checks concerned visible particulate emissions.
• The egress-point checks concerned visible fugitive particulate emissions.
• Both checks were required on operating days and had to be documented.
• The absence of responsive records does not itself establish how much particulate pollution, if any, left the facility on a particular day.

Testing in 2022 led to a final settlement four years later

1. May 8, 2014

   Ohio EPA issued the operating permit containing the daily-check duties and emission limits cited in the federal case.

2. March 9, 2020

   This is the start date EPA used for its allegations concerning the required daily visible-emissions checks.

3. February 11 to May 12, 2022

   The submitted particulate, HCl and chlorine tests listed in the settlement were conducted during this period.

4. June 8, 2022

   EPA inspected the Delta facility and requested emissions tests, visible-emissions records and other operating records.

5. September 15, 2022

   EPA issued a notice of violation. Representatives of EPA and ReMuriate later conferred on October 12.

6. July 23, 2023

   EPA’s three allegations involving the HCl, chlorine and particulate limits run through this date.

7. March 26, 2024

   Ohio EPA issued a renewed permit with provisions the settlement describes as generally equivalent to the 2014 permit.

8. September 2, 2026

   The consent agreement and final order was filed, making the $302,109.20 settlement effective.

No admission, no trial, and no appeal

The settlement was entered without adjudication of any issue of law or fact. For this proceeding, ReMuriate admitted EPA’s jurisdiction but neither admitted nor denied the factual statements or alleged violations.

“neither admits nor denies any statement of fact, including the allegations stated in Section E”ReMuriate’s stipulated position in the consent agreement

At the same time, the company agreed that the order stated a claim upon which relief could be granted. It waived a hearing, waived the right to contest the allegations, waived judicial or administrative review and waived an appeal.

EPA said it calculated the penalty using Clean Air Act factors, its stationary-source civil penalty policy, the facts of the case and ReMuriate’s cooperation. The order does not break down how much of the penalty corresponds to each allegation.

Payment is due within 30 days of the filing date. The document describes interest and additional collection measures if payment is late, but it does not establish that payment has already been made.

The permit was enforceable. The order does not quantify community exposure.

Ohio’s air-permit program is part of a federally enforceable state plan designed to implement and maintain national ambient air-quality standards. That made ReMuriate’s permit conditions enforceable by EPA under the Clean Air Act.

The permit’s daily checks and numerical limits were compliance controls. The checks were meant to create a regular record of whether visible emissions appeared, while the stack tests measured particular pollutants under test conditions.

The supplied order does not report ambient air measurements around the facility. It does not identify injuries, illnesses, property damage or a specific off-site exposure caused by ReMuriate’s emissions. It also does not quantify how much pollution was released across EPA’s alleged violation periods.

Those limits matter. They prevent the test results from being turned into unsupported claims about continuous emissions or demonstrated harm to nearby people.

The penalty closes a defined case, not every compliance question

Once ReMuriate completes the settlement terms, the agreement resolves only its federal civil-penalty liability for the violations specifically alleged in the document. It does not relieve the company of its duty to comply with federal, state or local law, and it does not prevent EPA from pursuing other violations.

The settlement also references an administrative compliance order issued concurrently under the same docket number. That document was not included in the supplied material, so this record does not show what corrective work, testing, reporting or operating changes it may require.

The settlement establishes a penalty and ends the administrative proceeding. It leaves the most practical question outside the supplied record: whether the plant’s present-day emissions and monitoring now meet the limits that generated the case.