DAQ-2024-004259

195 North 1950 West • Salt Lake City, UT
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 144820 • Salt Lake City, UT 84114-4820
Telephone [phone] • Fax [phone] • T.D.D. [phone]
www.deq.utah.gov
Printed on 100% recycled paper
State of Utah

Department of
Environmental Quality

Kimberly D. Shelley
Executive Director

DIVISION OF AIR QUALITY
Bryce C. Bird
Director

SPENCER J. COX
Governor

DEIDRE HENDERSON
Lieutenant Governor
DAQC-018-24
Site ID 14178 (B1)

Madeline Fleisher
Owens Corning World Headquarters
One Owens Corning Parkway
Toledo, OH 43659

Dear Ms. Fleisher:

Re: RE: Notification of Non-Compliance by Owens Corning Insulating Systems, LLC Under
the Utah Environmental Self-Evaluation Act

The Utah Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has reviewed your notification of non-compliance and
request for waiver of civil penalties under the Environmental Self-Evaluation Act, Utah Code
§§ 19-7-101 through 19-7-109 (the Act). The request was received via email on December 28,
2023, following an internal evaluation conducted at the Owens Corning Nephi Plant which
operates under DAQ Approval Order (AO) DAQE-AN141780008-23. Potential non-compliance
with Utah Administrative Code (UAC) R307-401 and AO condition I.3 was discovered on
December 7, 2023, as part of this self-evaluation for the installation of one 800-900 horsepower
(hp) diesel-fired emergency generator engine and one 200 hp diesel-fired emergency fire pump
engine.

Following this discovery, Owens Corning conducted a full self-evaluation under the Act and
submitted the aforementioned notification. The notification explained that the source is addressing
the non-compliance by working to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to the DAQ New Source
Review (NSR) Section for modification of its AO within 60 days of discovery or within a
reasonable amount of time. Recurrence will be prevented through Owens Corning incorporating
additional review to determine consistency with the AO as part of its management of the change
process for equipment installation.

DAQ “shall waive civil penalties for an instance of noncompliance with an environmental law or
requirement” if the following conditions are met: (1) the regulated entity discovers noncompliance
through an environmental self-evaluation; (2) the regulated entity voluntarily discloses
noncompliance to DAQ in writing within 21 days of violations’ discovery; (3) the regulated entity
corrects the violation within 60 days after the discovery or within a reasonable amount of time;
and (4) the regulated entity submits to DAQ a written outline of reasonable steps it will take to
+ 2 / 6 á Û Ù Û Ý
DAQC-018-24
Page 2

prevent recurrence. Utah Code § 19-7-109(2). Owens Cornings notification of non-compliance
submitted to the DAQ on December 28, 2023, fully satisfies each of the statutory elements.
Additionally, any circumstances that would prevent DAQ from waiving civil penalties as listed in
Subsections 19-7-109(3) and (4) of the Utah Code are not present in this case. Based on this
voluntary self-disclosure notification, the DAQ concurs with Owens Cornings request to waive all
compliance actions and any potential penalties associated with this instance of non-compliance
conditional on return to compliance within 60 days of discovery or within a reasonable amount of
time.

Once the DAQ NSR Section has determined the NOI is complete, the DAQ will issue the final
determination.

If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact me at [phone] or
[e-mail].

Sincerely,

Chad Gilgen, Manager
Minor Source Compliance Section

CG:rh

cc: Marina Thomas, Utah Attorney General’s Office
Alan Humpherys, Manager, Minor Source NSR Section

Attachments: RE: Notification of Non-Compliance by Owens Corning Insulating Systems, LLC
Under the Utah Environmental Self-Evaluation Act

OWENS CORNING WORLD HEADQUARTERS
ONE OWENS CORNING PARKWAY
TOLEDO, OHIO 43659
419.248.8000
MADELINE FLEISHER
Senior Regulatory Counsel
M: [phone]
[e-mail]
December 28, 2023
Via electronic mail
Chad Gilgen, Manager
Minor Source Compliance
Division of Air Quality
Utah Department of Environmental Quality
[e-mail]
[phone]
Re: Notification of Non-Compliance by Owens Corning Insulating Systems, LLC
Under the Utah Environmental Self-Evaluation Act
Dear Mr. Gilgen:
Owens Corning Insulating Systems, LLC (OCIS) is submitting this notification to the Utah
Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) as a self-disclosure of non-compliance discovered through an
environmental self-evaluation conducted on December 7, 2023, at its insulation manufacturing
facility located at 2762 South Main St., Nephi, Utah (Nephi Plant) operating under Approval
Order DAQE-AN141780008-23.
The AO authorizes operation of a 223 kW diesel-fired emergency generator,
manufactured in 2014, at the Nephi Plant. During the course of its self-evaluation, OCIS
discovered that instead of the authorized emergency generator, two diesel-fired engines had
been installed at the Nephi Plant that are not accounted for in its AO: one 800-900 horsepower
(hp) diesel-fired emergency generator, manufactured in 1995 (assumed to be Tier 0), installed in
March 2023 (“Emergency Generator”); and one 200 hp diesel-fired emergency fire pump,
manufactured in 2014, listed as Tier 4 compliant (“Fire Pump”). To the best of OCIS’s
knowledge, the Emergency Generator has not been in active operation at any point since
installation. The Fire Pump has been operated in maintenance mode for around 20-30 minutes
per month since installation. (OCIS is in the process of determining the installation date for the
Fire Pump.)
REVIEWED
Initials: CG Date: 1-4-24
Compliance Status: Notification of Non-Compliance
File # 14178 (B1)
2

© 2022 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved.
The self-disclosure of this instance of non-compliance meets the criteria for waiver of
civil penalties pursuant to Section 19-7-109 of the Utah Environmental Self-Evaluation Act as
follows:
• OCIS discovered the instance of non-compliance through an environmental self-
evaluation.
This instance of non-compliance was discovered during a self-initiated review of the
Nephi Plant’s air permit requirements, which was conducted by OCIS employees to assess the
facility’s compliance with those requirements. This review was not required by any
environmental law, but rather was conducted in the course of incorporating the AO
requirements into OCIS’s environmental management system.
• OCIS is voluntarily disclosing this instance of non-compliance within 21 days of discovery.
OCIS discovered that the two pieces of equipment had been installed onsite without
coverage under the Nephi Plant’s existing AO during a site walk-through conducted as part of
the self-evaluation on December 7, 2023. This notification is being submitted to UDAQ via
electronic mail on December 28, 2023, within 21 days of the date of discovery.
• OCIS plans to remedy this non-compliance within a reasonable amount of time after
discovery.
OCIS is in the process of preparing an application for modification of its AO to
incorporate this emergency equipment in compliance with 40 CFR 60 Subpart IIII, 40 CFR 63
Subpart ZZZZ, Utah Rule R307-401-8, and any other applicable legal requirements. OCIS will
make best efforts to submit this application within 60 days of the discovery of the non-
compliance (by February 29, 2024), subject to input from UDAQ regarding the appropriate
contents of the application. OCIS is in the process of determining whether operation of the Fire
Pump can be suspended pending UDAQ approval of the modification of the AO, or whether
operation of the Fire Pump in maintenance mode for a short time each month is necessary to
ensure its functionality in case of an emergency. If such preventative maintenance is necessary,
that limited operation of Tier 4 compliant equipment would not result in emissions at levels that
would be expected to result in serious actual harm or imminent and substantial endangerment
to human health or the environment.
• OCIS will undertake reasonable steps to prevent a recurrence.
OCIS has identified that this instance of non-compliance occurred because new air
emission units were installed at the Nephi Plant without sufficient review to determine
consistency with the facility’s AO. In future, OCIS will incorporate such review as part of its
management of change process for equipment installation.
• The instance of non-compliance was not a result of a lack of due diligence by OCIS.
OCIS has diligently managed its day-to-day manufacturing process to ensure
compliance with its AO for the Nephi plant. Both the Emergency Generator and the Fire Pump
constitute emergency equipment that is not part of that routine manufacturing process, with the
Fire Pump located in a separate building and the Emergency Generator not having operated
3

© 2022 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved.
since installation. Therefore, the inconsistency of the equipment specifications with the Nephi
Plant’s AO was not observed despite diligent implementation of the AO’s requirements prior to
the December 2023 self-evaluation.
• The instance of non-compliance is not a recurrence of a similarly caused specific violation
or a violation of the specific terms of a judicial or administrative consent order or
agreement.
There have been no similarly caused environmental violations at the Nephi Plant, and the
emergency equipment in question is not the subject of any judicial or administrative consent
order or agreement.
• The instance of non-compliance did not from reckless or willful disregard of
environmental laws.
As described above, this instance of non-compliance resulted from inadvertent oversight
despite OCIS’s exercise of reasonable due diligence in complying with applicable environmental
requirements, rather than any reckless or willful disregard of environmental laws.
• OCIS did not conduct the environmental self-evaluation for a fraudulent purpose.
As described above, OCIS conducted this environmental self-evaluation in good faith as
part of the implementation of its environmental management system.
• The Department of Environmental Quality had not already initiated a compliance
investigation at the time of the disclosure.
OCIS is not aware of any active compliance investigation by the Department relevant to
the Nephi Plant.
• The instance of non-compliance was not discovered pursuant to a legally mandated
monitoring, testing, or sampling requirement prescribed by law, rule, permit, order, or
consent agreement.
OCIS discovered the instance of non-compliance through a voluntary environmental self-
evaluation. That self-evaluation was not conducted in connection with any legal mandates.
• The instance of non-compliance did not result in serious actual harm or imminent and
substantial endangerment to human health or the environment.
As noted above, the Emergency Generator has not been operated since installation and
will not be absent legal authorization. The Fire Pump has only been operated in maintenance
mode for 20-30 minutes per month, and as noted above that limited operation of Tier 4
compliant equipment would not result in emissions at levels that would be expected to result in
serious actual harm or imminent and substantial endangerment to human health or the
environment.
• The instance of non-compliance did not result in any economic benefit or competitive
advantage over other similar regulated entities that did achieve compliance.
4

© 2022 Owens Corning. All Rights Reserved.
OCIS has not realized any economic benefit or competitive advantage over other similar
regulated entities, since it has not utilized either of the pieces of equipment in question to
support business operations and is now seeking appropriate legal authorization for such
operations as required for all similar regulated entities.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. Please do not hesitate to contact
me at [e-mail] or [phone] with any questions or concerns
that arise in reviewing this notification.

Sincerely,

Madeline Fleisher
Madeline Fleisher
Senior Counsel, Environmental and Regulatory

cc: Dave Jacobs ([e-mail])
Stefan Messmer ([e-mail])
Tad Anderson ([e-mail])