PORTLAND, Ore. — Even before investigators arrived at the scene of a deadly chemical tank rupture at a Longview paper mill, federal and state records painted a troubling picture of the facility’s environmental record.

Washington state regulators have taken formal enforcement action against Nippon Dynawave Packaging 18 times over the past decade for environmental violations, resulting in fines totaling $43,700, records show.

Among the most serious penalties, the company was fined $9,000 on two separate occasions. In February 2017, state regulators cited the company for exceeding air quality emissions limits for sulfur dioxide. Eighteen months later, in August 2018, the company was fined again, this time for releasing methanol into the air at levels above what its operating permit allows.

More recently, in August 2024, the company was penalized for discharging excess solids into its treated wastewater and again releasing sulfur dioxide above permitted levels.

It remains unclear whether any of those prior violations are connected to the tank that failed this week.

RELATED: Records show safety complaints, past fires at Longview plant before tank rupture

According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s online compliance database, the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant has repeatedly run afoul of both the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. As of September 2024, the facility had been out of compliance with the Clean Air Act in four of the previous 12 quarters.

The most recent data shows the Longview facility has been out of compliance with the Clean Water Act every quarter for the past three years, including 8 quarters with significant violations.

It has also been out of compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for two of the last 12 quarters.

Tuesday’s implosion sent some contamination into the nearby Columbia River. Officials say the tank failure has not affected regional air quality or drinking water supplies, though testing is ongoing.

“EPA responders are on the scene collaborating with federal, state, and local partners to monitor for potential impacts to local waterways and air quality,” said EPA spokesperson Beth Clemons. “At this time, there have been no impacts observed to the Columbia River and there have been no observed off-site air monitoring impacts.”