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EPA Fines Fisher Sand and Gravel $150,000 for dust violations

Release Date: 11/20/2013
Contact Information: Margot Perez-Sullivan, (415) 947-4149, perezsullivan.margot@epa.gov

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have issued a civil penalty against Fisher Sand and Gravel of $150,000 for failing to comply with dust mitigation regulations at three of its Maricopa County facilities. In addition, the company is required to take steps to minimize the generation of dust at its Phoenix plant.

“Our goal is to prevent airborne dust from harming public health,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “We will continue to work closely with local air quality agencies to enforce the rules that protect communities from dust.”

Fisher Sand and Gravel operates numerous sand and gravel facilities in Maricopa County. The violations occurred at their Buckeye, Sun City and Phoenix locations. The enforcement action stems from EPA and Maricopa County Air Quality Department inspections conducted in 2010 at these three facilities that identified 17 violations for failing to perform various measures required to reduce particulate matter emissions, such as:

· Failure to spray water during earthmoving operations
· Failure to remove particulate matter from vehicles leaving the site
· Failure to clean up dirt tracked more than 50 feet beyond the site
· Failure to submit and comply with dust control plans