Clarion Boards agrees to pay penalty for operation violations

From staff reports

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced Wednesday that Clarion Boards, a subsidiary of Kronospan, has agreed to a consent assessment of civil penalty in the amount of $229,950 for operation violations that occurred between 2017 and February 2019 at the Clarion Boards facility in Paint Township, Clarion County.

DEP said in a press release it found violations of the facility’s hourly and yearly limits on the emission of volatile organic compounds.

In addition, Clarion Boards had data availability issues with the facility’s continuous emission monitoring system and operated plant equipment in a manner that was inconsistent with terms and conditions of the facility’s operating permit, the press release said.

“Violation of daily and yearly emission limits are significant violations and are easily prevented through proper oversight of operations. This penalty is appropriate, given the potential impacts associated with an exceedance of emission limits,” said Jim Miller, director of DEP’s Northwest Regional office.

“DEP appreciates Clarion Boards’ acknowledgment of the violations and efforts to correct and prevent similar violations in the future,” Miller added.

The payment will go into the Pennsylvania Clean Air Fund.

The company has corrected the violations and has recently installed new equipment at the facility, including a new dust burner system, new regenerative thermal oxidizer to better control VOC emissions, and four engines to produce on-site power, the press release said.