One of the world’s largest fertilizer makers is settling a massive hazardous waste lawsuit for almost $2 billion to help clean up pollution and upgrade leaky facilities in Florida and Louisiana, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
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In 2003, 2004 and 2005, EPA inspectors determined that sulphuric acid solutions used in the manufacturing process and other materials that it considered to be hazardous wastes were being added to the stacks, in what the agency said was a violation of federal law.
Processes used to make phosphate fertilizer result in acidic wastewater and lots of phosphogypsum, an unwanted byproduct with trace radioactivity.
Mosaic stores the waste in 500-foot-high piles that span more than 600 acres at eight facilities in Florida and Louisiana.
In Florida, the facilities covered in the agreement were located in Bartow, Lithia, Mulberry and Riverview. That money will cover the future closure and treatment of hazardous wastewater facilities. Mosaic will also pay a $5 million civil penalty to the United States and $1.55 million to the State of Louisiana and $1.45 million to the State of Florida, who joined the Department of Justice and EPA as plaintiffs in this case.
“This case is a major victory for clean water, public health and communities across Florida and Louisiana”, said Assistant Administrator Cynthia Giles for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
It’s also agreeing to pay $170 million on environmental cleanup and other projects, and $3 million total to Louisiana and Florida.
Mosaic, which is based in Plymouth, said it doesn’t expect that its production and operations will be affected by the settlement. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed – a few indicating strength, a few showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks.
Joc O’Rourke, Mosaic’s president and chief executive officer, said his company is happy to see the issue come to a close.
The settlement, which requires court approval, would resolve government complaints that it mismanaged waste from its fertilizer production.
Under the settlement, Mosaic also will do two environmental projects worth $2.2 million in Florida and Louisiana.
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“Mosaic is committed to meaningful environmental stewardship at all of our facilities, and we take our responsibility to be good corporate citizens — now and for the decades ahead — very seriously, ” O’Rourke said in a prepared statement “The commitments we are making through these settlements further those stewardship efforts”.
