McCain Foods in Othello reached a settlement agreement this week with the Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) over violations of the plant’s air quality permit, vowing to avoid any similar violations in the future. The settlement includes a $40,000 fine.
The violations concern the operation and testing of air pollution control equipment, namely the use of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP) that controls emissions from the potato fryers.
The company is required to install and use an ESP to control emissions from two potato fryers at the plant. ESPs use electricity to remove fine particulate matter such as dust and smoke from the potato fryers.