Friday, February 10, 2012

EPA Shakedown : It's all about the Green

Shakedown stories from Feb 1 - Feb 10, 2012

Monson Cos. : $68,000 + $33,000 in training & equipment to local emergency response teams

Fined for a poorly organized warehouse

As usual the story is too brief. It seems that the aisles were too narrow and incompatible chemicals were not separated. There was no pollution, just a disorganized warehouse.

Dover Chemical Corp. : $1,400,000

Fined for paperwork not being descriptive enough

Dover Chemical Corp. has been creating chlorinated paraffins for over 40 years. The problem is with their short-chain chlorinated paraffins. The story describes how this product is linked to cancer and other problems, but it does not state if it is illegal to make it. However, the company has agreed to stop making the product.

Quote from the story:
Dover Chemical maintains it filed all appropriate paperwork in 1978, but that in the December 2009 notice of violation the EPA claimed that the description of CPs wasn’t “in sufficient detail.”

Dover Chemical also said that the settlement “resolves all of the USEPA’s allegations, without any finding of admission of liability ...”
No pollution and no liability just cost $1,400,000. Imagine if they actually did something wrong.

Fairbanks' residents : $100 ( potential )

Fine for heating their home

Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will propose a law on Feb 23rd limiting emissions on solid-fuel heating devices. In November a measure that would have banned some devices was defeated.

Better the citizens freeze to death than having them burn coal and wood.

N.H. Motorcycle Riders : Unknown fine

Fine for a motorcycle being too noisy

If your motorcycle is over 92 decibles then, um, something bad will happen? Having a bike that goes "Vrooom VROOOOOOMMM!!!" will be illegal.

Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy LLC : $10,000 + at least $38,000 of emergency equipment for local township

Fined for missing paperwork

Once again a story that is too brief. An ethanol plant, that fuel the government pushes, stores anhydrous ammonia and need to have an emergency plan on file. The EPA says there is no plan on file. Story fails to mention if any warnings were given and there are no comments from the company. Once again, there is a fine when there was no pollution; the fine is for missing paperwork.

So far the story has garnered only one comment and it is the scary mentality that too many people have: It is okay to fine them because they have lots of money.



National Energy Technology Laboratory : $1,500

Surprise Inspection!

2 violations: improper sealing of containers of universal waste lamps and failure to properly mark a hazardous waste container. Violations were fixed within 24 hours. These sound like simple human errors and not a flaunting of the law if it was so quickly fixed. EPA is grabbing money for people being human!

ROLE REVERSAL : EPA SUED

Yes. 10 states are sueing the EPA to force soot standards. Clever states. Here is what happens if they succeed.
  • Energy plants comply
    • Costs of complying are passed on to the consumer ( suer )
  • Energy plants fail to comply
    • Energy plants are fined for violations
    • Energy plants pass fines to consumers [ suer ]

It's all about the Green.

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