LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- State regulators levied a near-record penalty against Jim Beam Brands Co. after a July warehouse fire caused a bourbon spill that “degraded” the Kentucky River and other state waterways.
Jim Beam agreed to a $600,000 fine in a Dec. 6 order from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, according to documents obtained by WDRB News in a public records request. The bourbon conglomerate also will reimburse the state agency $112,000 for its costs.
A spokesperson for the cabinet said this is one of the largest penalties issued for a bourbon spill. Adjusting for inflation, the Jim Beam agreement is similar in size to the civil penalty agreed to by Wild Turkey for its 2000 spill.
Chicago-based Jim Beam did not admit or deny the five violations, which included several accusations of causing pollution to state waters.
The Beam warehouse near the Woodford and Franklin county lines caught on fire late on July 2. State documents say a lightning strike caused a fire to the structure, which later collapsed, destroying 40,000 barrels of bourbon.
An unknown amount of bourbon saturated into the ground and spilled into nearby Glenn’s Creek before eventually reaching the Kentucky River, the report shows.
A Jim Beam spokesperson released the following statement to WDRB News:
Drew Chandler, the Woodford County Emergency Management Director, remembered getting the phone call late in the evening for help from fire screws at the scene.
"When I left my house, I could see the glow from the fire on the horizon halfway across the county," he said. "I knew then that this was big."
It was a massive team effort coordinating several local, state and federal agencies to put out the fire and prevent as much damage to the environment as possible. Chandler said an emergency plan had not yet been created for Jim Beam. However, a plan had already been created for a distillery nearby. He said crews were able to work off that plan, which allowed for a quicker response effort.
Chandler said Jim Beam did everything possible during the lengthy clean up process to protect first responders and the environment.
Jim Beam warehouse goes up in flames near Versailles, Ky.
Flames rise from the site of the Jim Beam bourbon warehouse fire on Wednesday. Image via CNN.
Flames from a burning Jim Beam warehouse fire were intense enough to melt lights on fire trucks at the scene. Image via CNN.
"Their cooperation, the nudges that they got from the environmental folks — well, you ought to be doing this, and they did that," he said. "We'd like to ask you to do this, and they'd do that. That is what ultimately led to it not being a worse of an impact downstream of that site in the river."
Chandler added that his department learned valuable lessons from the incident, which revealed some shortcomings they needed to improve upon. His staff has now taken added training on how to coordinate with the media. He said they're also developing more detailed plans for how to deal with bourbon warehouse fires, like they have for industrial fires with hazardous chemicals. And finally, his team is coordinating with neighboring agencies to figure out how they can practice and train together more often.
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