Tag Archives: Todd Kim

Lima Refining Settles Clean Air Act Violations in Ohio

The Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency today announced a settlement with the Lima Refining Company (LRC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian-based Cenovus Energy, to address violations of the Clean Air Act at its refinery in Lima, Ohio. LRC must pay a civil penalty of $19 million and implement ~$150 million in capital investments, including control technology expected to reduce emissions of benzene by an estimated 4.34 tons per year, other hazardous air pollutants (HAP) by 16.26 tons per year, and other volatile organic compound emissions (VOC) by 219 tons per year.

“This settlement is part of an ongoing initiative to curtail illegal benzene and VOC emissions at refineries that have failed to allocate the necessary personnel and capital investments to ensure compliance with rules they have long been subject to,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Under the settlement, the refinery will implement controls that will greatly improve air quality and reduce health impacts on the overburdened community that surrounds the refinery.” Continue reading

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DOJ – Defeat Devices Plea With COBB Tuning Products

The Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have announced a settlement agreement with COBB Tuning Products to settle claims relating to the manufacture and sale of automotive emission defeat devices in violation of the Clean Air Act. The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval.

The settlement requires COBB to pay a civil penalty of just over $2.9 million, based on the company’s limited ability to pay, and to stop the manufacture and sale of defeat devices.* COBB is an automotive aftermarket parts manufacturer and retailer based in Austin, Texas, which formerly sold its parts in Plano, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Fountain Valley, California. Continue reading

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Tadano Group Fined for Selling Dirty Diesel Engines

As part of the proposed consent decree now residing at the United States District Court for The Southern District Of Texas Houston Division, Tadano Group will also contribute $3.2 million towards a project to mitigate harm caused by excess nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions from its non-compliant crane engines. The project will retire a 1975 tugboat and christen a new, cleaner tugboat to service ships in the Port of Port Arthur, Texas. Continue reading

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