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Clean Air Act Violators on Northwest Indian Reservations Face EPA Fines

Release Date: 11/23/2009
Contact Information: Don Dossett, EPA Office of Compliance and Enforcement, 206-553-1783, [email protected] - Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-0454, [email protected]

(Seattle, Wash.—Nov.23, 2009) A company and an individual on Indian reservations in the Northwest have agreed to pay penalties for violations of the Federal Air Rules for Indian Reservations under the Clean Air Act, according to two orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The company failed to control its emissions and register with EPA, and the individual conducted outdoor burning during a burn ban, according to orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“Protecting air quality on Northwest Indian reservations is a priority,” said Ed Kowalski, Director of the Office of Compliance and Enforcement in Seattle’s EPA office. “We will enforce these rules as needed to protect human health and the environment and to deter other violators.”

McNabb Grain, Inc., which operates a grain elevator on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation near Pocatello, Idaho, has agreed to pay $15,462 for several violations, according to an EPA order. The violations arise out of the company’s failure to register with EPA as an air pollution source from 2007-2009, and to identify and implement reasonable precautions needed to control particulate matter emissions from the facility. The company has recently come into compliance with these requirements.

Robert Meyer, who does business under the name FMF Excavation, was hired in December 2008 to dispose of agricultural waste at the Green Acre Farms site, located within the exterior boundaries of the Yakama Indian Reservation in Wapato, Wash. According to an EPA order, Meyer disposed of these materials by open burning during a burn ban, and that the burn continued even after he had been advised that the burn ban was in effect. Meyer agreed to pay a penalty of $2,470.

The Federal Air Rules for Reservations include rules regulating open burning, agricultural and forestry burning, control of particulate matter, registration and reporting of emissions from air pollution sources, and other rules to protect air quality and human health on Indian reservations in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. For several years, EPA Region 10 provided technical assistance to regulated sources of air pollution. EPA is now addressing violations with formal enforcement, which may include penalties.

For more information on Federal Air Rules for Indian Reservations, click here or paste this URL into your browser: https://www.epa.gov/r10earth/farr.htm