The California Air Resources Board announced that Marborg Industries, E.J. Harrison and Sons, and the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority have settled for a combined total of $57,500 for failing to properly inspect their heavy-duty diesel vehicle fleets to assure that state smoke emissions requirements had been met.
“All of us, from individuals to large businesses, must bear some responsibility for cleaning up our environment,” says CARB Chairman Mary Nichols. “The Air Resources Board believes strong enforcement is necessary so that regulated entities understand that violators will not get away with polluting our air.”
Santa Barbara-based Marborg Industries, a waste management service, settled for $26,000, while E.J. Harrison and Sons, a trash collection company headquartered in Ventura, paid $18,500 to settle; the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority paid $13,000.
According to CARB, all three were cited for violating the state’s Periodic Smoke Inspection Program, which requires that owners of California-registered truck and bus fleets perform regular inspections of their vehicles to ensure that their engine emissions meet state air quality standards. Marborg and Harrison also were cited for violations of the Solid Waste Collection Vehicle regulations.
In addition to their payments, the companies also have agreed to follow rules set forth by the smoke inspection program and will require all fleet staff responsible for compliance with CARB’s regulations to attend classes conducted by the California Council on Diesel Education and Technology.
All monies are being paid to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which was established to mitigate various sources of pollution through education and the advancement and use of cleaner technology. This fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, uses compliance settlement fees to support various pollution-related research projects and related programs.
