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Reddy Ice Corporation to pay penalty and improve accident prevention and preparedness at Denver facility

Release Date: 05/30/2013
Contact Information: David Cobb 303-312-6592; Mathew Allen 303-312-6085

Ice manufacturer to pay $61,500, improve management of anhydrous ammonia

(Denver, Colo. – May 30, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced a Clean Air Act settlement in which the Reddy Ice Corporation (Reddy Ice), based in Dallas, Texas, has agreed to pay a $61,500 penalty and correct deficiencies associated with the risk management program at its facility in Denver, Colo.

According to the settlement, Reddy Ice allegedly violated the risk management plan provisions of the Clean Air Act by failing to ensure storage vessels containing hazardous chemicals were constructed according to industry standards and providing insufficient documentation in plans designed to mitigate on-site hazards. These deficiencies were discovered during an EPA inspection of the ice manufacturer’s facility in north Denver on December 5, 2010.

“Facilities that use chemicals and substances that pose a potential danger are responsible for having a robust risk management program in place,” said Mike Gaydosh, director of EPA’s enforcement program in Denver. “Failure to do so places the environment, employees, and nearby communities at risk.”

The Reddy Ice facility is subject to the risk management provisions of the Clean Air Act due to its on-site quantity of anhydrous ammonia, an acutely toxic chemical. As a result of the agreement, the company will take steps to ensure that process vessels containing ammonia are properly constructed and will update the facility’s risk management plan. Ready Ice has agreed to correct the deficiencies within 60 days.

Under the Clean Air Act, operations such as the Reddy Ice facility must develop and implement a risk management plan to assist with emergency preparedness, chemical release prevention, and minimization of releases that occur. EPA Inspectors found that the facility had not adequately implemented these regulations.

EPA’s action will benefit residents, including significant low-income and minority populations, in the vicinity of the Reddy Ice facility by reducing the possibility of exposure to anhydrous ammonia. This settlement will also ensure proper safety practices are in place to protect employees and first responders from the threat of dangerous chemical releases.

For more information on the Clean Air Act and risk management requirements: https://www.epa.gov/oem/content/rmp/caa_faqs.htm