More Than Money: Environmental Projects in Enforcement Settlements Bring Goods and Services to Communities Harmed by Pollution

– EPA Region 7 Feature –

By Madelyn Bremer, Public Affairs

Drive into the small community of Verona in Lawrence County, Missouri, and you’ll be greeted by the rolling hills and foliage that make the Ozarks famous. Blink, and you might miss the sign marking the town’s population of just 619.

Verona resembles many other small Midwestern towns. One municipal building serves as a hub for all public services, housing the courthouse, police department, and city hall. A convenience store on the south end of town provides essentials for the community, while the nearest grocery store is a 10-minute drive away in nearby Aurora. The two highways that run through town also serve as its main thoroughfares; and like many small, rural communities, local industries are significant employers and economic pillars of the city.

BCP Ingredients, a Balchem subsidiary with a plant in Verona, is one of the nation’s largest producers of choline chloride, a food additive used in both human-grade food and animal feed for livestock. Balchem employs over 1,000 individuals across the country, including over 100 at its Missouri location.

In June 2022, EPA inspected BCP’s Verona facility following an April incident in which over 1,200 pounds of ethylene oxide (EtO), a hazardous air pollutant associated with serious health risks, was released. EtO is a colorless, flammable gas linked to increased cancer risk from both acute and long-term exposure. In December 2024, EPA and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a settlement with BCP Ingredients to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Air Act’s chemical accident prevention requirements.

EPA’s enforcement actions aim to deter further misconduct and return violators to compliance, while simultaneously underscoring the seriousness of the damage incurred. However, these actions also provide an opportunity to go a step beyond, to benefit the communities impacted by the violations.

BCP’s settlement goes beyond typical enforcement actions and actively seeks to mitigate the effects of the violations on the community. The settlement agreement will provide tangible, lasting environmental and public health benefits for the Verona community.

Environmental Projects in Enforcement Settlements

Most enforcement and compliance actions against businesses or individuals for failure to comply with environmental laws are resolved by negotiated settlements. In addition to taking actions required to return to compliance and paying civil penalties, willing defendants may undertake additional projects that directly benefit the affected community or environment. These settlement projects are closely related to the violation being resolved, but go beyond what is required under federal, state, or local laws.

In Verona, BCP Ingredients elected to install an additional scrubber to reduce emissions of EtO. The company will also invest at least $350,000 into three other projects to help mitigate the environmental and health impacts of EtO, and other pollutants, in the community.

Environmental Projects in Action

EPA has included similar environmental projects in Agency settlements for over 30 years, but has redoubled its efforts to seek locally beneficial projects in settlements.

In December 2023, EPA settled with American Shaman LLC, a retailer of CBD and hemp products, for over $120,000 in fines due to alleged violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. According to EPA, the company unlawfully sold unregistered antimicrobial pesticides in the form of toiletries and personal care products during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to civil penalties, American Shaman agreed to donate $250,000 in medical equipment to Care Beyond the Boulevard, a Kansas City nonprofit that provides medical services to the homeless community and other underserved populations. The donated equipment includes COVID-19 test kits, hand sanitizer, antiseptic wipes, masks, gloves, thermometers, and other types of personal protective equipment.

Environmental projects in settlements can also help prevent future violations. In Lawrence, Kansas, a landfill operated by Hamm Inc. opted to spend approximately $30,000 in 2023 on two projects. One project implemented first-of-its-kind, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to monitor methane emissions on-site. The second project required installation of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) monitors at five locations to provide real-time updates on the condition of the landfill cover material and identify potential erosion issues. After a March 2022 inspection at the facility found the company had exceeded the regulatory standard for methane emissions and failed to undertake the required corrective actions, the landfill operators utilized the UAV monitoring and LiDAR images to prevent potential future releases of landfill gases.

EPA also enforces regulations covering businesses that use large quantities of extremely hazardous chemicals. Those regulations seek to protect workers and communities by preventing accidents, fires, and explosions, and ensuring that facilities and local responders are prepared in the event of a catastrophic release.

EPA Region 7 has entered into a number of settlements concerning these regulations that provide “above and beyond” protections for workers and communities. One such settlement involved the Nox-Crete chemical manufacturing facility in Omaha, Nebraska, which had a major chemical fire that resulted in the evacuation of over 2,000 local residents. As part of settlement, the company will install a fire suppression system to help prevent major fires in the future.

Similarly, EPA entered into a settlement with Ajinomoto Inc., a food manufacturer in Eddyville, Iowa, that uses large quantities of anhydrous ammonia. As part of the settlement, the company will install a water deluge system that is designed to reduce the amount of ammonia released into the air during an accidental release.

Tangible Community Impacts

As part of its settlement in Verona, Missouri, BCP Ingredients will provide at least $50,000 worth of emergency response equipment to the Verona Fire Department to help this small community be better able to respond to emergency EtO releases. The company will also establish localized medical services through mobile health clinics, which will include two vehicles specifically designated for this purpose.

BCP committed to spending no less than $80,000 for the two mobile health vehicles, which will provide medical services to the communities in and around Verona, including the cities of Aurora and Monett, Missouri. The company will also spend at least $220,000 to bring medical visits to the community via licensed third-party providers. The nearest medical facilities to Verona are in adjacent cities, making these health-related projects essential for serving a historically underserved community.