Intalco aluminum plant fined $5.25 million for air pollution

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the now-shuttered Intalco, fining the company $5.25 million after years of alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act at its aluminum smelting facility in Ferndale.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the plant failed multiple clean air inspections between 2017 and 2020, releasing illegal amounts of hazardous pollutants such as carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen fluoride, polycyclic organic matter, mercury and heavy metals. Exposure to these hazardous materials can cause cancer and other serious health impacts, according to the EPA.

The EPA found “hundreds of instances” within the same timeframe of the facility failing to comply with pollution monitoring, work practice standards, and recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

During one inspection in November 2019, EPA investigators identified “egregious” violations of the Clean Air Act, which prompted the agency to investigate further, where it discovered the litany of non-compliance issues.

Intalco’s parent company, the Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Corporation, began curtailing operations in March 2020 due to grim market outlooks. The facility permanently closed last year.

The DOJ and EPA investigation is a part of a federal effort to reduce air pollution in “overburdened” communities that take the brunt of hazardous air pollutants from industrial facilities, according to the EPA.

Ed Kowalski, assurance director for EPA’s Region 10 Office of Enforcement and Compliance, said that while the aluminum plant has been closed down, any future plant will undergo heavy federal scrutiny.

“While most of us breathe some level of air pollution, some communities have been exposed for decades to pollutants in the air, the water and on land,” Kowalski said. “EPA has prioritized the protection of these communities from facilities that violate laws meant to protect people from industrial pollution. While the Intalco facility is not currently operating, any new operation there should be aware that EPA will do everything it can to enforce environmental and public health laws to protect nearby Ferndale residents.”