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CENTRAL VALLEY UTILITIES AGREE TO PAY NEARLY $110,000 TO SETTLE ALLEGED AIR VIOLATIONS

Release Date: 4/5/2000
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, 415/744-2201

     SAN FRANCISCO   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached agreements recently with three San Joaquin Valley utilities that call for them to pay a collective $109,641 in civil penalties to settle numerous alleged acid rain reporting violations under the federal Clean Air Act.

     The Modesto Irrigation District will pay $40,313, the Turlock Irrigation District will pay $34,300, and the Northern California Power Agency will pay $35,028 for alleged violations at its facility in Lodi.  The three utilities have also agreed to comply with the regulations.

     In 1995, the EPA began requiring electric utilities to report all sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions   the primary ingredients of  acid rain   as part of a national goal to reduce acid rain, which causes acidified lakes and streams, lowers  visibility in national parks and deteriorates buildings and monuments.  Forests and water bodies, especially, from the Sierra Nevada to the Appalachians have been damaged by acid rain.  Proper reporting is one element of the EPA's requirement that electric utilities reduce annual nitrogen oxide emissions by 2 million tons.  

     "These settlements strike a fair balance between the utilities' violations, and their efforts to correct them," said Deborah Jordan, acting director of the EPA's air division in San Francisco.  "All power providers   from Maine to California   share a responsibility in reporting their nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide emissions to the EPA so that we can work to reduce acid rain."

     The alleged violations at the three facilities included:

    failure to submit acid rain monitoring plans

    failure to submit quarterly emissions reports

    failure to conduct emission monitoring certification testing and submit certification reports

    failure to keep proper records

     The EPA became aware of the alleged violations through communications with the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District and with the facilities themselves.

     The three publicly owned utilities  provide electric, irrigation and domestic water service in northern San Joaquin Valley.

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