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 November of last year: COMPANY: Arco Product Co., Carson TYPE OF BUSINESS: Oil refinery PENALTY: $49,000 VIOLATION: Erecting a new storage tank without a permit to construct. COMPANY: Southern Pacific Transportation Co., Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Railroad PENALTY: $9,000 VIOLATION: Multiple violations involving excessive smoke emissions from locomotives. COMPANY: Swedlow Inc., Garden Grove TYPE OF BUSINESS: Plastic and acrylic maker PENALTY: $5,900 VIOLATION: Installing a paint booth without a permit to construct, excessive reactive organic compound emissions. COMPANY: Southern Pacific Transportation Co., Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Railroad PENALTY: $3,000 VIOLATION: Excessive smoke emissions from a diesel locomotive last July. COMPANY: Southern Pacific Transportation Co., Bloomington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Railroad PENALTY: $3,000 VIOLATION: Excessive smoke emissions from a diesel locomotive last August. COMPANY: UNOCAL, Wilmington TYPE OF BUSINESS: Oil refinery PENALTY: $3,000 VIOLATION: Excessive reactive organic compound emissions from a leaking plug valve. COMPANY: Preproduction Plastics, Los Alamitos TYPE OF BUSINESS: Plastic parts maker PENALTY: $2,500 VIOLATION: Public nuisance violation as a result of chemical odors. COMPANY: Western Waste Industries, Long Beach TYPE OF BUSINESS: Trash collector PENALTY: $2,500 VIOLATION: Public nuisance violation as a result of odors. COMPANY: Contractors Wardrobe, Valencia TYPE OF BUSINESS: Wardrobe door maker PENALTY: $2,300 VIOLATION: Excessive reactive organic compound emissions from coating operations. COMPANY: Furgro McClelland (WEST) Inc., Ventura TYPE OF BUSINESS: Engineering firm PENALTY: $1,500 VIOLATION: Exceeding emission limits, failure to install a flow meter, operating equipment not built to proper specifications. COMPANY: Mobil Oil Corp., Torrance TYPE OF BUSINESS: Oil refinery PENALTY: $1,500 VIOLATION: Leaking excessive reactive organic compound emissions. COMPANY: Southdown Thermal Dynamics, El Segundo TYPE OF BUSINESS: Sludge treatment plant PENALTY: $1,500 VIOLATION: Operating contrary to permit to construct.