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The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced in a June 5th news release a settlement with Anheuser-Busch, LLC (“AB”) addressing alleged violations of the following programs:
- Clean Air Act chemical accident prevention requirements
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
The settlement addresses 11 AB breweries that use anhydrous ammonia.
EPA is stated to have conducted inspections between 2016 and 2019 at three AB facilities located in:
- Merrimack, New Hampshire
- Fort Collins, Colorado
- Fairfield, California
The federal agency is also stated to have investigated an ammonia release in 2019 at AB’s Fort Collins, Colorado, facility.
The settlement requires that AB hire an independent expert to conduct a safety review at 11 of its breweries that use anhydrous ammonia. The safety review will utilize what EPA describes as:
. . . two of the most recent and comprehensive ammonia refrigeration industry standards and issue recommended actions based on those reviews.
AB is also required to develop and implement corrective action plans based on the reviews.
A civil penalty of $537,000 is assessed.
A copy of the news release can be downloaded here.
