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Settlement funds to be split between Peralta Community College
and clean-air fund. 



Release 10-35
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2010
	  	  	
Karen Caesar
626-575-6728 desk
626-818-0145 cell
www.arb.ca.gov

ARB settles air quality violations with Massachusetts company
for $55,500

Settlement funds to be split between Peralta Community College
and clean-air fund

SACRAMENTO –  The California Air Resources Board last month
settled with a Norwell, Mass., heavy-duty diesel fleet for
$55,500 for failing to inspect its trucks for compliance with
smoke emissions standards at fleet centers throughout the state.

ARB investigators found that Clean Harbors Environmental
Services, failed to conduct diesel truck smoke tests in 2008 and
2009, as required by state law.  Clean Harbors provides
environmental services and emergency response for the
transportation industry.

“Trucking in California requires fleet owners ensure that their
rigs are clean,” said ARB Enforcement Chief Jim Ryden. “Failure
to meet emissions standards jeopardizes public health and also
creates an unfair playing field for those companies who follow
the law.”

Under the settlement, Clean Harbors must:

    * Ensure that staff responsible for compliance with the
diesel truck emission inspection program attend diesel education
courses and provide certificates of completion within one year;
    * Instruct vehicle operators to comply with the state’s
idling regulations;
    * Complete heavy-duty diesel engine software and control
technology upgrades in compliance with regulations;
    * Supply all smoke inspection records to ARB for the next
four years; and,
    * Properly label engines to ensure compliance with engine
emissions certification regulations.


The California Air Pollution Control Fund, established to
mitigate various sources of pollution through education and the
advancement and use of cleaner technology, will receive $41,625,
and the remaining $13,875 will go to the Peralta Community
College District to fund diesel education classes throughout the
state.

Failure to inspect diesel vehicles can lead to an increase in
harmful airborne particles that Californians breathe. In 1998,
the ARB listed diesel particulate matter as a toxic air
contaminant in order to protect public health. Exposure to diesel
emissions can increase the risk of asthma, bronchitis and other
respiratory diseases.

The Air Resources Board is a department of the California
Environmental Protection Agency.  ARB’s mission is to promote and
protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through
effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and
considering effects on the economy.  The ARB oversees all air
pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain
health based air quality standards.

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