TOP 1989 POLLUTION PENALTIES

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has responsibility to control air pollution in the area. It has the power to seek court-imposed fines against polluters of from $25 to $25,000 a day based on such factors as the extent that emissions exceed legal limits, potential danger to the public, whether the violation was intentional, accidental or due to negligence, and the company’s history of violations. These are the 20 highest penalties paid in 1989: COMPANY Gary Lazar, California Target Enterprises Inc. Downey TYPE OF BUSINESS Service stations operator PENALTY $355,000 VIOLATION Failure to maintain vapor recovery systems on gasoline tanks and pumps over a three-year period. COMPANY Ford Aerospace Corp. Newport Beach, Irvine sites TYPE OF BUSINESS Defense contractor PENALTY $250,000 VIOLATION Operating spray painting booths and coating equipment contrary to permit conditions; excessive hydrocarbons; failure to keep adequate emission records. COMPANY Powerine Oil Co. Inc. Santa Fe Springs TYPE OF BUSINESS Oil refinery PENALTY $177,750 VIOLATION Hydrocarbon emissions contrary to permit conditions over a 14-month period. COMPANY May Co. North Hollywood TYPE OF BUSINESS Department store chain PENALTY $150,000 VIOLATION Failure to submit AQMD-approved ride-sharing plans for its Redondo Beach and Costa Mesa stores. COMPANY Tishman West Companies Los Angeles TYPE OF BUSINESS High-rise buildings management firm PENALTY $120,000 VIOLATION Failure to obtain permits to operate internal combustion engines; excessive nitrogen oxide emissions from those engines. COMPANY Hamilton Fixture West Brea TYPE OF BUSINESS Wooden fixture manufacturer PENALTY $60,000 VIOLATION Exceeding gallons-per-day limits on paint usage, resulting in excessive hydrocarbons. COMPANY Gregory and Cook Inc. Indio, Thermal projects TYPE OF BUSINESS Earth-moving equipment operator $50,000 VIOLATION Excessive fugitive dust emissions, entering the atmosphere beyond property line during installation of pipeline and grading of a railroad bed. COMPANY Menasco Manufacturing Burbank TYPE OF BUSINESS Aircraft landing gear maker PENALTY $50,000 VIOLATION Excessive vapor pressure during coating operations. COMPANY Plastiglide Manufacturing Corp. Hawthorne TYPE OF BUSINESS Plastic and metal components manufacturer PENALTY $50,000 VIOLATION Excessive hydrocarbons from painting operation. COMPANY Cooper and Brain Oil Co. Signal Hill TYPE OF BUSINESS Oil refinery $49,000 VIOLATION Excessive vapor pressure while storing crude oil in a shipping tank. COMPANY Bonanza Aluminum Corp. Ontario TYPE OF BUSINESS Die-casting firm PENALTY $30,000 VIOLATION Excessive hydrocarbons from painting operations. COMPANY Douglas Aircraft Co. Torrance TYPE OF BUSINESS Defense contractor PENALTY $30,000 VIOLATION Excessive vapor pressure from solvent usage; failure to obtain permits to operate ovens, scrubbers, de-greasers, liquid storage tanks and other equipment. COMPANY J.D. Bertolini Industries Ltd. Compton TYPE OF BUSINESS Metal chassis and frame manufacturer PENALTY $30,000 VIOLATION Excessive hydrocarbons from painting operations; operating equipment without a permit; failure to use closed containers to dispose of rags containing solvents used during cleanup and paint removal. COMPANY McDonnell Aircraft Co. Palmdale TYPE OF BUSINESS Defense contractor PENALTY $28,950 VIOLATION Excessive hydrocarbons from a spray painting booth and in its primer. COMPANY Unocal Corp. Wilmington TYPE OF BUSINESS Oil refinery PENALTY $27,250 VIOLATION Excessive odors and nitrogen oxide emissions exceeding opacity limits; numerous violations of permit conditions. COMPANY Ascon Properties Inc. Huntington Beach TYPE OF BUSINESS Hazardous waste disposal firm PENALTY $25,000 VIOLATION Failure to control odors from an open landfill pit. COMPANY Blair Paving Anaheim TYPE OF BUSINESS Paving contractor PENALTY $25,000 VIOLATION Failure to obtain a permit to operate a concrete batch plant and excessive visible dust emissions at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro. COMPANY Sanwa Bank Monterey Park TYPE OF BUSINESS Financial institution PENALTY $25,000 VIOLATION Failure to submit an AQMD-approved ride-sharing plan. COMPANY Trans World Airlines Los Angeles TYPE OF BUSINESS Airline PENALTY $25,000 VIOLATION Failure to submit an AQMD-approved ride-sharing plan. COMPANY Powerine Oil Co. Santa Fe Springs TYPE OF BUSINESS Oil refinery PENALTY $23,000 VIOLATION Excessive hydrocarbon emissions; operating tanks without a permit.