Idaho Conservation League: Novolex in Compliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, August 1, 2016

Contacts:

Austin Hopkins, 208.345.6933 x 23

On July 25, the Idaho Conservation League (ICL) published a press release and sent letters to Novolex alleging that the company was violating Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions reporting requirements. After communicating with Novolex and reviewing data, the ICL announced today that it was mistaken in its initial assessment and now understands Novolex’s Jerome, Idaho, facility is in compliance.

"We are pleased to say that Novolex has demonstrated to us that its Jerome facility was in compliance with EPA emission reporting requirements," said Austin Hopkins, Conservation Assistant for the ICL. "After the Jerome facility review and learning about Novolex’s robust environmental health and safety program, we have full confidence its other facilities are also in compliance with the EPA reporting requirements that we were concerned about."

A joint review of Novolex’s environmental health and safety program revealed that Novolex did not need to file with the EPA because their emissions levels are substantially below reporting thresholds, thanks to its vigilant efforts to reduce emissions and innovative in-house operational practices.

"It’s nice to see that Novolex facilities appear to have robust environmental health and safety programs, which focus on the safety of their employees and the communities they operate in. We are looking forward to future opportunities to work together with Novolex," said Hopkins.

"Novolex is pleased to have had the opportunity work with ICL to help them understand our comprehensive environmental health and safety program. While ICL’s initial claim that we were violating reporting laws is regrettable, their willingness to investigate the facts about our program and integrity to retract that statement after learning about our process is laudable," said Phil Rozenski, Senior Director of Sustainability at Novolex. "There is no doubt that ICL and Novolex share the common core value of promoting the safety of our employees and the communities we work in."

###