In an earlier January 2011 settlement, Eastman Specialty Chemicals, which owned and operated a portion of the facility, agreed to pay a $365,500 penalty for alleged violations related to its operations at the plant.
The Franklin plant, which is adjacent to the banks of Nottoway River, is located in Courtland .
The plant manufactures chemicals for the paper and printing industry.
In the 1990’s, Hercules, the original owner of the plant, sold parts of the facility to Eastman and GEO, which also manufactured chemicals at the facility.
GEO sold its operations and Eastman closed a significant portion of its operations at the plant in 2009.
Along with the settlement papers, the US filed a complaint against Eastman in April 2011 and a joint complaint against Hercules and GEO last week alleging environmental violations related to their individual operations at the Franklin plant.
