SUNDANCE AG, INC.

According to U.S. Department of Labor enforcement records, SUNDANCE AG, INC. — a industry sector 00 facility located at 480 SOUTH 250 WEST, BURLEY, ID 83318 — was the subject of a formal OSHA inspection that resulted in 37 citation(s) and cumulative proposed penalties of $180,600.00. The inspection case was opened on 1999-01-26.

Cumulative penalties significantly exceed the national median for OSHA enforcement actions. The penalty amount suggests multiple high-gravity citations, indicating conditions that presented a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm to employees.

State Context: Within ID, this facility's penalty places it at the 100th percentile among 11,860 inspected facilities. The statewide average penalty is $2,249.74.

Citation Analysis: The inspection produced 37 citations spanning 4 distinct OSHA regulatory standards. The citation breakdown includes: 1 other-than-serious — The violation has a direct relationship to job safety and health but is unlikely to cause death or serious physical harm. 14 serious — A workplace hazard that could cause death or serious physical harm exists, and the employer knew or should have known about the condition.

Enforcement Timeline: Citations were issued beginning October 2, 1997 with the latest abatement deadline set for September 1, 1998. Of the 37 total citations, 15 (41%) have been marked as abated in DOL records, which may indicate ongoing compliance gaps requiring further regulatory attention.

Penalty Assessment: The cumulative penalty of $180,600.00 reflects OSHA's gravity-based penalty calculation methodology, which considers the severity of potential injury, the probability of occurrence, the employer's size, good faith, and violation history. The per-citation average of $4,881.08 falls within the standard penalty range.

The 1999 inspection of the Sundance Ag facility revealed a catastrophic breakdown in Process Safety Management (PSM) and hazardous material handling protocols, evidenced by 37 citations and a substantial $180,600 penalty. The enforcement record highlights a concentrated failure to adhere to 29 CFR 1910.119 and 1910.106 standards, which govern the management of highly hazardous chemicals and flammable liquids. Specifically, the citations regarding mechanical integrity (1910.119(j)) and management of change (1910.119(l)) indicate that the facility was operating under high-risk conditions where critical equipment and process modifications were not properly documented, tested, or maintained. For workers, these systemic failures created a volatile environment with a high probability of catastrophic release, fire, or explosion. The penalty severity was exceptionally high for the late 1990s, signaling that OSHA viewed the site’s deficiencies as a pervasive threat rather than isolated technical lapses. The overlap between flammable liquid storage violations and PSM failures suggests a facility-wide neglect of engineering controls and administrative safeguards. This pattern of non-compliance points to a fundamental absence of a safety culture, where the basic requirements for preventing chemical disasters—such as emergency planning and equipment inspections—were ignored. Such a comprehensive enforcement action typically follows an incident or a referral that uncovered deep-seated institutional disregard for the life-safety of the workforce.