Cummins mistake leads to fine: Self-reported error in permit paperwork for expansion will cost company $11,250
|
|
Cummins Inc. reported Friday it will pay an $11,250 fine to the state because of paperwork glitches in its permit requests for new equipment in Seymour.
“We discovered that we may not be in compliance with some air-handling equipment and immediately notified the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,” Cummins spokesman Jon Mills said Friday morning.
The error involves equipment recently installed as part of a $219 million expansion project at Seymour Engine Plant on the city’s east side.
The violation occurred because the equipment installed was different from that outlined in the permit request, according to the order.
Only one unit was in use by the time the error was discovered, plant manager Darren Wildman said Friday, adding emissions from that equipment had not approached permit limits.
“We were below 50 percent on our emissions,” Wildman said. “So the community health was not affected. It’s strictly a paperwork violation.”
The state confirmed it had no issue of whether emissions had exceeded the original permit limits, public information officer Rob Elstro said Friday afternoon.
“The company still cannot exceed the limits spelled out in the (original) permit,” Elstro said. That restriction will be enforced until a modified permit is approved to match the equipment that was installed, he added.
Cummins and IDEM signed an agreed order this week that outlines the $11,250 fine and requires that permits be corrected to reflect the equipment installed.
Mills said the fine is in the process of being paid. The company has 30 days to comply with the agreement.
The equipment is used to provide comfort air in the plant’s test cells, Wildman said, “to give us the right temperature in testing engines.”
“Basically, it’s your home furnace, just in a bigger version,” he added. “What was installed were not exactly as written on the construction permit.”
According to the order, Cummins reported the violation Oct. 1 and waived its 60-day notice of violation. It reached agreement on the fine and its conditions Wednesday, according to the order.
The permit error will not affect work at the plant or its ongoing expansion project, Wildman said.
Mills said the Seymour Engine Plant project is a “key growth initiative for the company,” echoing spokeswoman Carole Casto’s comments earlier this month when Cummins announced it would be reducing its global labor force by 1,000 to 1,500 workers by the end of this year because of slowing product demand.
Cummins announced this week that 126 workers from the Seymour plant and its Fuel Systems Plant would be transferred to the MidRange Engine Plant in Columbus and that 150 workers from among those three plants would lose their jobs by the end of this year.
Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!
