According to a DEQ penalty notice issued Oct. 15, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has penalized HP Inc. with a $1,100 fine. The company was found to have missed the annual reporting deadline for its Corvallis facility.
The penalty was announced on Tuesday, Dec. 21 News release.
The Corvallis facility at 1070 NE Circle Blvd. houses a semiconductor wafer fabrication plant and an imaging and printing research-and-development center. HP has a DEQ Air Contamination Permit for its manufacturing processes. The company did not respond before the deadline.
Natural gas boilers heat water at the facility. Wet scrubbers treat acid exhausts during fabrication. Ammonia scrubbers may also be used at several locations. According to the DEQ, the facility is not considered a major source for hazardous air pollutants.
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The penalty order states that annual reports are essential for determining if contamination sources operate within permit guidelines and to ensure that emission levels do not pose a danger to the environment or health of the public. The HPs report was due February 15, but it was not submitted by the deadline of March 30.
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DEQ deemed the violation to be minor, with a minimum adverse effect. DEQ found that the company was in compliance throughout 2020, once the annual report had been submitted. HP was given a standard 20-day appeal period for the deadline violation.
DEQ found no prior significant actions against HP for similar violations in its penalty formula. However it was noted HP had received an April 2020 warning for not meeting its February 2019 annual reporting deadline.
This negligence would have increased the penalty but was offset by HPs reasonable attempts to correct the violation according to the penalty order. It also states that there was no economic benefit for the company due to the violation.
Dylan Darling (DEQ public affairs specialist) said that HP did no appeal the fine. He stated that HP paid the entire fine in full on December 13. Darling said that repeat violations could result from higher penalties.
Staff writer Troy Shinn contributed this report.
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