ADEM levies $1.85 million in penalties

Star Staff Writer
12-28-2000

It may not have shattered any records, but the Alabama Department of Environmental Management meted out more than $1.85 million in fines for fiscal year 2000. The tally totals significantly higher than the $1.2 million in fines issued in fiscal year 1999. "It was the third or fourth highest dollar amount," said agency spokesman Clark Bruner. Among the noteworthy fines was a $225,000 penalty to Mobile's CREANOVA for disposing of chemical waste into the city's sewer system and for air emission problems. "They had some air emissions of what are considered hazardous levels, and they failed to identify and address the problem in a timely manner," Bruner said. CREANOVA makes a variety of compounds including colorants and additives for architectural and industrial coatings and chemicals for the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, photographic, agricultural and food industries. Locally, ADEM handed out the following fines during fiscal year 2000:  Burgin Construction, $85,000  Werner Aluminum, $14,000  City of Talladega Water and Sewer Board, $2,000 Locally, Burgin Construction received an $85,000 fine for problems arising from work at the Anniston Water Works' Choccolocco Wastewater Treatment Plant. During digging on Snow Creek, sediment was deposited back into the water. The soil was later found to contain PCBs and construction has since been halted. Other local fines include $14,000 to Werner Aluminum for violating hazardous waste rules and $2,000 to the city of Talladega Water and Sewer Board for failure to comply with  the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System program, which permits and monitors the dumping of contaminants into watersheds. ADEM issued a total of 227 administrative orders, an enforcement mechanism used to bring companies back into compliance when violations occur. Failure to comply with an order can result in legal action and fines. On those 227 orders, ADEM issued 208 fines. "Usually if we catch it early enough and it's not a serious violation, we have lesser instruments to bring them back into compliance," Bruner said. With small cities that have little tax money, ADEM will try to help them resolve the problem without fines. "To us, slamming a fine on them is counter productive," he said. However, a serious infraction, such as flagrant dumping, may result in a fine from ADEM rather quickly, Bruner added. The money collected from the fines go into the state general fund after ADEM deducts a portion for its legal and enforcement costs. All fines can be appealed, Bruner said.