Monday, March 31, 2014

EPA Shakedown : It's all about the Green : March 2014

Shakedown stories from March 2014

Titan Tire Corp. and Dico Inc. : $3,100,000

EPA fined the company for demolishing buildings that contained PCPs. Part of the defense was that only a teaspoon amount was ever found. Meanwhile, nearby, there are others polluting and meth labs.

EPA said that the demolishing of the building would require them to oversee it. A free country does not have the government on site watching you work.

The Village Watkins Glen : unknown

Potential fines for violations due to high chlorine levels. Really. Sounds like things are extra clean.

The problem is that is the fines go through then plans for a new treatment facility will have to be scraped and the old treatment plant will instead need to be retro-fitted to comply with regulations. If the EPA is serious it would work with the village to get a new treatment plant instead of keeping the plant that made the violations going.

But where are the fines in that?

Andy Johnson : $75,000/day

Mr. Johnson acquired proper permits and legally built a pond on his land. EPA charges him with “building a dam on a creek without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers.” Mr. Johnson claims he is exempt and followed state rules.

JCI Jones Chemicals Inc. : $41,000

EPA is fining the company because they didn't evaluate risks of having one chemical next to another in storage containers. $41,000 for not saying how dangerous it might be? BS!

Five Washington state companies : $254,075

This insanity is straight from the EPA website. Five companies have been fined for not reporting in a timely manner the storage of chemicals. Almost sounds bad till you read the story. Each company didn't report storing of chemicals that they would always have on site. A vinegar company was fined for not reporting in a timely manner the chemicals used in making vinegar.

Company uses up chemical X then get a shipment of chemical X. Didn't report fast enough and now you have to pay the EPA money.

It's all about the Green