TOP AIR POLLUTION PENALTIES

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has responsibility to control air pollution. It can 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 10 top penalties in July: COMPANY Southern Pacific Transportation Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS Railroad PENALTY $425,000 VIOLATION Excessive visible emissions from locomotives throughout Riverside, San Bernardino, L.A. and Orange counties. COMPANY Redman Equipment & Manufacturing Torrance TYPE OF BUSINESS Manufacturer of heat exchange devices for crude oil industry PENALTY $7,500 VIOLATION Failure to notify the AQMD of asbestos removal; failure to wet down and label asbestos-containing material. COMPANY Tait Environmental Anaheim TYPE OF BUSINESS Consulting firm for excavating underground fuel tanks PENALTY $7,500 VIOLATION Failure to implement mitigation measures for hydrocarbon-contaminated soil. COMPANY Fletcher Oil and Refinery Carson TYPE OF BUSINESS Refinery PENALTY $6,000 VIOLATION Public nuisance violation due to odors from a sulphur recovery unit, contrary to permit conditions. COMPANY Bedford Properties Rancho Cucamonga TYPE OF BUSINESS Owners of Old Rancho California Airport PENALTY $5,300 VIOLATION Failure to remove hydrocarbon-contaminated soil from an excavation site; violating permit-to-construct conditions. COMPANY Trinidad Corp. St. Louis, Mo. TYPE OF BUSINESS Oil shipper PENALTY $5,000 VIOLATION Black smoke emissions from a ship. COMPANY Trojan Battery Santa Fe Springs TYPE OF BUSINESS Battery manufacturer PENALTY $5,000 VIOLATION Failure to submit an approvable AQMD ride-sharing plan. COMPANY Chemoil Refinery Corp. Carson TYPE OF BUSINESS Storage and loading facility PENALTY $4,000 VIOLATION Excessive foul-smelling hydrocarbon vapors. COMPANY Southern California Rapid Transit District Los Angeles TYPE OF BUSINESS Public transit operator PENALTY $3,750 VIOLATION Failure to obtain permits to operate one 10,000-gallon waste crankcase oil tank and four 30,000-gallon diesel fuel tanks. COMPANY U.S. Polymeric Santa Ana TYPE OF BUSINESS Aerospace products manufacturer PENALTY $3,000 VIOLATION Failure to obtain a permit to install three bulk storage tanks; using a resin solution exceeding permit limits.