Fertilizer manufacturer fined $25K over clean air violations

PASCO — A fertilizer manufacturing company in Washington has been fined $25,500 for making large quantities of ammonium phosphate liquid fertilizer with a mobile reactor without an air quality permit.

Pacific Northwest Solutions LLC produced 650 tons (590 metric tonnes) of liquid fertilizer between March 7 and March 9 at Nutrien Ag Solutions in Moses Lake, 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Spokane, the Tri-City Herald reported.

“Pacific Northwest Solutions has a long non-compliance history with Ecology,” the Washington state Department of Ecology said in its notice of penalty.

The company has not met all permitted emission limits at one time since 1998, officials said. Pacific Northwest Solutions was fined $5,000 in 2019 and 2020 for failing to properly test its equipment to ensure it met air quality emissions standards.

The company had been notified that tests in January 2021 showed its reactor did not pass and could not meet proposed permit limits or comply with state and federal regulations, department officials said.

At the time, the state was working to rescind a permit for a different company reactor that could not meet standards, officials said.

Pacific Northwest Solutions was not immediately available for comment. The company has 30 days to appeal the fine to the Washington Pollution Control Hearings Board.