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 $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 caused by negligence and the company’s history of violations. These are the 10 top penalties in April: COMPANY: Kaiser Aluminum & Chemical Corp. Los Angeles TYPE OF BUSINESS: Aluminum recycler PENALTY: $25,000 VIOLATION: Failure to submit and implement an AQMD-approved ride-sharing plan. The corporation will spend an additional $25,000 over three years to add incentives to its ride-sharing plan. COMPANY: HESSCO Industries Inc. La Habra TYPE OF BUSINESS: Fiberglass bath fixture maker PENALTY: $12,000 VIOLATION: Public nuisance violation from emitting odors, failure to maintain daily usage records and exceeding daily usage limits, failure to visibly post permits to operate, failure to keep solvent-saturated rags enclosed in proper containers. COMPANY: Grand Hotel TYPE OF BUSINESS: Anaheim Hotel PENALTY: $10,000 VIOLATION: Failure to implement all incentives listed in its AQMD-approved ride-sharing plan, failure to document those incentives that were paid to employees, failure to submit its annual ride-sharing plan update in a timely manner. The hotel will use an additional $30,000 to add incentives to its ride-sharing plan. COMPANY: Lunday-Thagard Oil Co. South Gate TYPE OF BUSINESS: Refinery PENALTY: $5,000 VIOLATION: Operating an improperly maintained crude oil distillation unit. COMPANY: Southern Pacific Transportation Co. Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Railroad PENALTY: $3,000 VIOLATION: Excessive black smoke from a diesel locomotive in January, 1993. COMPANY: Southern Pacific Transportation Co. Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Railroad PENALTY: $3,000 VIOLATION: Excessive black smoke from a diesel locomotive in February, 1993. COMPANY: Southern Pacific Transportation Co. Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Railroad PENALTY: $3,000 VIOLATION: Excessive black smoke from a diesel locomotive in February, 1993. COMPANY: Shewey Environmental Management Co. Hemet TYPE OF BUSINESS: Underground storage tank removal PENALTY: $2,250 VIOLATION: Failure to take proper measures to mitigate soil contamination during the excavation of a storage tank, failure to promptly notify the AQMD of the incident. COMPANY: International Rectifier Corp. El Segundo TYPE OF BUSINESS: Semiconductor maker PENALTY: $2,100 VIOLATION: Operating a semiconductor photo resist track machine without venting to control equipment. COMPANY: Placerita Oil Co. Inc. Newhall TYPE OF BUSINESS: Cogeneration facility PENALTY: $2,000 VIOLATION: Public nuisance violation as a result of bypassing vapor recovery equipment while operating machinery.