Document yma3qDYDEnoOJLXxrKLEaY3D2

BRENNTAG May 19, 2017 To Whom It May Concern: RE: Brenntag Mid South SARA 313 (Toxic Release Inventory) Violation On January 12, 2017, Brenntag Mid-South's East Point, Georgia facility was inspected by the U.S. EPA Region 4 fo r compliance w ith the Community Right-to Know regulations. Brenntag personnel provided EPA inspectors w ith the facilities SARA 312- Tier II Inventory and SARA 313Toxic Release Inventory reports fo r years 2012 through 2015. At tim e o f inspection, Brenntag personnel realized that fo r reporting year 2015, one SARA 313 Form A report fo r Formic Acid had been subm itted, but not certified, on EPA's CDX reporting system. Reporting w ithin the CDX system is a tw o step process, initial report subm ittal and subsequent certification. Brenntag personnel had simply failed to click the certification button fo r this particular report. Upon discovery during the inspection, Brenntag personnel logged into the CDX and clicked the certification button for the report. On May 2, 2017, Brenntag received tw o Notices of Violation fo r failure to submit a Form A fo r Formic Acid to EPA and the State of Georgia. Note: states receive TRI reports via the CDX system. On May 18, 2017, Brenntag and EPA Region 4 conducted a conferencce call to review the proposed penalities. Ms. Erica W hite represented the EPA and outlined the proposed penalties as follows: Initial proposed penalty of $55,460 ($27,730 per violation) Final proposed settlem ent of $19,410 EPA took into consideration Brenntag's immediate corrective action of "clicking" the certification button w ithin the CDX system; our cooperation during the inspection and our clean compliance history fo r reducing the proposed penalty. Furthermore, EPA stated their reasoning behind the large penalty was that failure to certify the report prevented local agencies from having available knowledge of the chemicals presence at the facility to properly plan fo r potential emergency response. However, the intent o f SARA 313 reporting is fo r measuring toxic releases and not fo r emergency response planning. The SARA 312 Tier II Inventory report is intended fo r emergency response planning and Brenntag reported Formic Acid on the 2015 Brenntag North America, Inc. Bill North Post Road Indianapolis. Indiana 47226 Phone: (317) 454-7226 Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Tier 3/4 ED 002061 00043477-00001 report. Therefore, the local responders were provided w ith applicable knowledge, via the correct reporting avenue, of the presence of this material at our facility. In 2015, Brenntag Mid-South subm itted 38 Form A's and 33 Form R's fo r 17 operating locations w ithin their region. All subm itted reports, w ith the exception of the Form A fo r East Point were certified w ithin the CDX system. This, in and of itself, demonstrates Brenntag Mid-South's knowledge and intent to comply with the regulatory requirement. I am in agreement that the failure to "click" the certification button w ithin the CDX system fo r the East Point report is techincally a violation o f the SARA 313 regulation. However, the report had been subm itted and the adm inistrative oversight did not cause any damage to the environm ent or result in injury to Brenntag personnel or members of the general population. For this reason, it is my opinion that the proposed penalty o f $19,410 is not justified fo r a simple oversight. Feel free to contact me at I Ex. 6 i___________ require additional information. jor swiram@brenntag.com if you have any questions or Respectfully Submitted, Brenntag North America, Inc. Brenntag, Inc. P.D. Box I378B Reading PA IBGI2 Phene: (GIO) B2G-GIDD Fax: (GID) B2G-3D7D Sierra Club v. EPA 18cv3472 NDCA Shawn P. Wiram Director Safety, Health & Environment Tier 3/4 ED 002061 00043477-00002