Countywide : The Dirty Half-Dozen

Following is a list of the six most severe air pollution penalties assessed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in April. Company: Laidlaw Gas Recovery Systems Inc. Newark, Calif. Penalty: $30,000 Violation: Failure to maintain the temperature of the gas-burning flare to at least 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit, exceeding flow-rate limits, failure to submit a performance test and failure to keep adequate records on various days between February, 1989, and June, 1989, at the county’s Coyote Canyon landfill in Irvine (landfill gas-recovery firm) Company: OHM Corp. 2191 Dupont Drive Anaheim Penalty: $19,000 Violation: Excavating contaminated soil in Long Beach without an AQMD-approved plan and without a valid permit in August, 1989 (landfill excavation management firm) Company: Ganahl Lumber 1220 E. Ball Road Anaheim Penalty: $9,500 Violation: Failure to submit an AQMD Regulation XV trip-reduction plan by the June, 1989, deadline (lumber company) Company: Marine Corps Air Station El Toro Penalty: $3,000 Violation: Failure to maintain vapor-recovery systems on gasoline-dispensing equipment, allowing visible emissions from a jet-test facility and alleged modification of boilers without prior approval (military base) Company: Anderson St. John Inc. 7532 Anthony Ave. Garden Grove Penalty: $2,000 Violation: Exceeding the solvent-content limits of paints in October, 1987; storing solvent in open containers from October, 1987, to June, 1988; failure to keep records of coating and solvent use from October, 1987, to August, 1988, and operating spray guns without permits in October, 1987 (metal coatings firm) Company: E.F. Houghton & Co. 3431 Carriage Drive Santa Ana Penalty: $1,100 Violation: Operating a tank contrary to permit conditions in February, 1990 (industrial oil distributor) Source: South Coast Air Quality Management District