WASHINGTON - Oilseed processor Bunge North America Inc. has agreed to a US$13.9 million pollution settlement that will use most of the money on projects to cut the company's emissions at a dozen processing plants, the US Justice Department said Thursday.
The St. Louis, Missouri-based unit of Bunge Ltd. agreed to clean up emissions at 11 soybean processing plants and at one corn plant in eight states, the Justice Department said. The deal would eliminate more than 2,200 tons of harmful pollution emissions a year when fully implemented, according to the government.
The federal government alleged that at some or all of the 12 plants, Bunge or a subsidiary violated federal clean air law by significantly modifying those facilities without getting permits or complying with pollution controls.
"Eliminating over 1,000 tons of emissions of volatile organic compounds, for example, will reduce the formation of ground-level ozone, a pollutant that irritates the lungs and exacerbates diseases such as asthma," said Assistant Attorney General Sue Ellen Wooldridge.
Under the settlement, the Justice Department said Bunge will spend an estimated US$12 million on emission-reduction projects and will pay a US$625,000 civil penalty, to be divided among the federal government and the eight states.
The company also will spend more than US$1.25 million on other environmental projects, including removing mercury, lead or asbestos from schools in Louisiana and retrofitting diesel school buses and other vehicles in five states.
The Justice Department said the settlement follows similar deals with other oilseed processors, including Cargill Inc. and Archer Daniels Midland Co. .
Also on Thursday, Bunge reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit that caused shares in the company to hit a 15-month high. Shares were at US$62.99, up US$4.13 or 7 percent, in mid-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
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