Neenah Foundry Settles Environmental Charges

Neenah Foundry Co. entered into a settlement agreement with the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice to resolves a civil environmental enforcement action over alleged violations of air-pollution control permits, as well as state Dept. of Natural Resources and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, at its two plants in Neenah, Wisc.

As part of the settlement, Neenah Foundry will pay $200,000.

“Our air-pollution control permit system relies on compliance with permit terms in order to effectively protect clean air,” stated Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul. “When companies fail to fulfill their obligations under those permits, there must be accountability.”

Neenah Foundry is a manufacturer of gray iron castings for construction and municipal markets. Since 2022 it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Charlotte Pipe and Foundry. In addition to the two foundries in Wisconsin, it operates a foundry Medley, FL, and 13 distribution centers across the United States.

In a statement released to news outlets, Neenah Foundry offered: “The settlement announced today by the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice concludes prior investigations conducted in 2019 and 2021 related to certain administrative record-keeping practices and permit interpretation matters at Neenah Foundry Co. These matters posed no identified impact to public health or safety and did not involve emissions violations or allegations of pollution.”

Wisconsin alleged Neenah Foundry failed to maintain and operate air pollution-control devices and monitors; did not maintain adequate records; and failed to report deviations from permit requirements to the Dept. of Natural Resources.

Ten of the proposed violations involved the foundry allegedly failing to maintain minimum air pressures, pressure differentials, water pressures, water and scrubber flow rates, and temperatures necessary for the control devices to operate properly.

Two violations contended that the foundry failed to maintain output analyses of the control devices.

One violation concerned the foundry allegedly failing to maintain records on leak alarms on control equipment.

Two more violations stated that the foundry failed to submit documents in a timely way about the proper operation of control devices.

One violation charged the foundry with failing to perform annual calibrations of an air-pollution monitor. Another alleged violation is for allegedly failing to maintain a log of steps taken to control dust, and another violation is for an alleged failure to notify DNR of deviations from permit requirements.