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The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment – Division of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) and Viskase Companies, Inc. (“VCI”) entered into a May 6th Consent Administrative Order (“CAO”) addressing an alleged violation of an Air Permit. See LIS No. 24-085.

The CAO provides that VCI owns and operates a cellulose food casing plant in Osceola, Arkansas.

The facility holds an Air Permit and is stated to be subject to the provisions of C.F.R. Part 63, National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, Subpart UUUU-Cellulose Products Manufacturing.

VCI is stated to have indicated in correspondence to DEQ dated August 24, 2023 that:

…it had encountered issues with their emissions testing that would make the results invalid.

DEQ is stated to have performed a review of the emissions test report on August 29, 2023, for the Viscose Process Vent (SN-07), and testing submitted on August 24, 2023, and testing conducted on June 27, 2023.

VCI indicated in the emissions test report that:

…while the ducts are 60-inches in diameter, the duct diameters were incorrectly measured as 48-inches. This discrepancy resulted in incorrect Method 1 measurements during testing. DEQ personnel determined that, due to the incorrect Method 1 measurements, the volumetric flow rate could not be accurately calculated; therefore, invalidating the test’s mass emission rates.

Plantwide Condition 9 of the Air Permit is stated to have been violated.

VCI neither admits nor denies the factual and legal allegations contained in the CAO.

A civil penalty of $1,650.00 is assessed.

A copy of the CAO can be downloaded here.