EPA reaches settlement with Huntsman unit on Clean Water Act violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced March 6 that Huntsman Advanced Materials L.L.C. will pay $180,000 to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act at an Ashtabula, Ohio-based company it acquired in 2020.

The company previously known as Gabriel Performance Products, makes epoxy curing agents used in composites and raw materials and adhesives used in the coatings industry. It was accused of exceeding permitted limits for pollutant discharges into the Diamond Shamrock tributary, which flows to Fields Brook and the Ashtabula River.

The Huntsman facility, which serves more than 2,000 customers in over 30 countries, dumped pollutants, including chlorine, mercury and E. coli, into the waterway on 44 occasions between February 2017 and July 2022, according to EPA documents.

In a news release about the settlement, the EPA stated that the facility has since "completed all actions and returned to compliance in August 2022 … (and) has agreed to pay a $180,000 penalty for these past violations."

The company must pay the fine in full for the civil penalty within 30 days. According to the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge of pollutants in the country, companies can face civil penalties of up to nearly $24,000 a day for violations.