Durand Glass Manufacturing Company - Incorporated Settlement

(Washington, DC -October 1, 2012) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Durand Glass Manufacturing Company Inc. has agreed to install emissions controls on its three glass furnaces that will reduce more than 173 tons of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) and 23 tons of particulate matter (PM) per year.

On this page:

• Overview of Company
• Violations
• Injunctive Relief
• Continuous Emission Rate Monitoring Systems
• Pollutant Reductions
• Health Effects and Environmental Benefits
• Civil Penalty
• Comment Period
• Contact

Overview of Company

Durand Glass Manufacturing Company, Incorporated (Durand) began operating in 1982. It is a private corporation that owns and operates a tableware glass manufacturing facility in Millville, New Jersey (Durand Facility). It currently employs over 1,000 people at the Facility.

Violations

The Complaint alleges that Durand made modifications to one of its furnaces at the Durand Facility without first obtaining pre-construction permits and installing required pollution control equipment. This resulted in increased emissions of nitrogen oxides (NO_x), particulate matter (PM) and PM less than 10 microns in diameter (PM-10). The Complaint also alleges violations of Title V of the Clean Air Act (CAA) for Durand’s failure to submit an application to include all applicable requirements in Durand’s Title V permit.

Injunctive Relief

The Consent Decree requires Durand to implement emissions controls to reduce emissions of NO_x, PM and PM-10. The cost of the pollution controls and monitoring systems is approximately $9.1 million dollars. Specific emission controls and limits include:

NO_x Controls

Durand is required to install the first Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) device on a tableware glass furnace in the United States. It is required to install the SCR on each of the three furnaces at the facility, not just the violating furnace, and has designed the SCR controls to achieve a 90 percent reduction of NO_x.

Durand is also required to meet the lowest NO_x emission rates for any glass furnace in the world: 

• 1.2 pounds of NO_x per ton of glass produced as measured on a 30-day rolling average basis
• 1.0 pounds of NO_x per ton of glass produced as measured on a 365-day rolling average basis.

This marks the first time that the EPA has set a long-term (365-day) Lowest Achievable Emission Rate (LAER) limit for NO_x at a glass manufacturing facility.

PM and PM-10 Controls

Durand is required to install PM filters on the furnaces to control PM emissions, and will comply with a PM emission limit of 0.20 pounds of PM per ton of glass produced. Emissions will be measured by annual stack testing while the Consent Decree is in effect.

In addition, this Consent Decree marks the first time that the EPA will set a PM-10 emission limit for a glass manufacturing facility. Durand agreed to set a final PM-10 emission limit based on the results of three annual stack tests. The Consent Decree provides that this final “test-and-set” limit can be no lower than 0.35 and no higher than 0.70 pounds of PM-10 per ton of glass produced.  

Continuous Emission Rate Monitoring Systems

Durand is also required to install and operate continuous emission rate monitoring systems that will allow it to monitor NO_x emissions on an hourly basis.

Pollutant Reductions

This settlement will result in the following emissions reductions once all emissions controls have been installed and implemented:

• Nitrogen Oxides:  173.6 tons per year 
• Particulate Matter:  23.8 tons per year

Health Effects and Environmental Benefits

Nitrogen oxides and particulate matter have adverse effects on human health and the environment.

• Nitrogen Oxides -- Nitrogen oxides can cause or contribute to a variety of health problems and adverse environmental impacts, such as ground-level ozone, acid rain, global warming, water quality deterioration, and visual impairment. Affected populations include children, people with lung diseases such as asthma, and exposure to these conditions can cause damage to lung tissue for people who work or exercise outside. 
• Particulate Matter -- Particulate Matter especially fine particles, contains microscopic solids or liquid droplets that are so small that they can get deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems. PM is linked to a variety of problems, including increased respiratory symptoms such as irritation of the airways, coughing, or difficulty breathing, decreased lung function, aggravated asthma, and premature death in people with heart or lung disease. 

Civil Penalty

Durand will pay a $300,000 civil penalty:

• $150,000 to the United States Treasury
• $150,000 to the State of New Jersey; an active partner in the settlement

Comment Period

The proposed Consent Decree, lodged in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Information on submitting comments is available at the United States Department of Justice.

Contact

Tahani Rivers, Attorney-Advisor
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1595 Wynkoop Street, Mail code: 8MSU
Denver, CO 80202
(303) 312-7155
[email protected]

Patrick W. Foley
Senior Environmental Engineer
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2242A)
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
(202) 564-7978
[email protected]