environmentailist suing mp alum smelting plant

Why this is so important to SSC and US AL Producers.

http://mtpleasantrecord.com/nuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=50

ENVIRONMENTAILIST SUING MP ALUM SMELTING PLANT

(AMM) Environmentalists suing Tenn. smelter
NEW YORK 28 September 2010 18:51

A citizens' group has filed a federal lawsuit against Tennessee Aluminum Processors Inc. (TAP) claiming the company discharged pollutants and maintained a waste stockpile without permits.

The group also filed similar charges against the city of Mount Pleasant, where the company and citizens' group are located.

The Association Concerned Over Resources and Nature (Acorn) alleges that TAP repeatedly ignored orders from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and violated sections of the Clean Water Act (CWA) and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).

The company has denied the claims, saying "they have no merit," and suggested to AMM that the complaint was the result of opposition to a solid waste disposal facility the company is looking to build.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tennessee, alleges that the company violated the CWA by discharging pollutants without a permit; violating laws under a permit it does hold; and violating pretreatment requirements. It also alleges that the company has illegally managed an "open dump" or stockpile of aluminum slag waste since 1989, which is prohibited by RCRA, and that the company was in violation of its stormwater discharge permit "by discharging unauthorized materials other than stormwater."

Gary Davis, counsel to the citizens' group, told AMM that Tennessee's environmental department issued its first order requesting TAP to remove all slag waste in the stockpile in 1989. Since then, the state has sent numerous other requests and orders, which failed to result in any action, he said. According to Acorn, the slag waste stockpile has discharged leachate containing ammonia and chlorides into a tributary of Quality Creek, resulting in the introduction of industrial wastewater into Mount Pleasant's sewerage system. Neither the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency nor TDEC has commenced any action against the company, the citizens' group said.

Acorn has asked that the company be held liable to pay civil penalties of up to $37,500 per day for each violation.

TAP's attorney, Clark Spoden, told AMM the company would file a motion for dismissal within 20 days of being served. "None of the claims has any merit," he said. "TAP has not used the stockpile since 1989, it has not violated any terms of its stormwater discharge permit and has always acted within the rules of TDEC."

Spoden said the company began removing waste from the slag pile in 2003 and has cleared 150,000 tonnes of material to date. "We do not know how much waste remains in the pile but have committed to removing it all by December 2012," he added.

Mike Apple, director of solid waste management at TDEC, told AMM that while there have been disputes between the TDEC and TAP in the past, they were resolved and since 2003 the cleanup has "progressed as planned."

Spoden alleged the motivation behind the lawsuit was Acorn's opposition to a salt cake landfill the company hopes to build on 90 acres of land adjacent to its current location with project partner Smelter Service Corp.

Mount Pleasant's governing body approved the rezoning on Jan. 20, just a day before Acorn conducted its first independent test of ammonia levels in the sewage system. The company's subsequent application to TDEC in April for a solid waste disposal facility permit is still under consideration.