Top 20 Northwest facilities fined under Clean Air Act

The Northwest’s Top 20 Fine Recipients

Northwest companies have received sizable air pollution fines over the past five years. The amount of the fine is based on multiple factors including the toxicity of chemical that was released and the length of time the violation occurred. Some violations are not specifically related to pollution, but are triggered by failing to turn in reports on time or for problems in monitoring emissions. The list covers large polluters in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Unless otherwise noted, these firms are in Washington.

Total   fines*           Citations*

Saint-Gobain Containers (Verallia)              $962,600                94

Seattle - Glass manufacturer

Shell Puget Sound Refinery                       $291,000                16

Anacortes - Oil Refinery

Chemco                                                  $247,000                4

Ferndale - Wood treatment

Hampton Lumber Mills

Darrington Lumber mill                            $230,000                103

Berry Plastics

Kent - Plastic bag manufacturer                 $218,300                7

Lafarge North America

Seattle - Concrete maker                           $216,000               75

Jeld-Wen                                                  $212,500

White Swan --Window and door maker

U.S. Air Force – Mountain Home                 $143,000               1

Mountain Home, ID - Air Force base

Kaiser Aluminum Washington                     $137,119                21

Spokane - Aluminum manufacturer

General Chemical                                       $127,000                5

Anacortes - Makes chemicals

Westport Shipyard                                      $111,000               29

Westport - Shipyard

Ponderay Newsprint                                      $110,000               1

Usk - Makes paper for newsprint

BP West Coast Products                                  $93,500               9

Blaine – Oil refinery

ConocoPhillips (Tosco)                                    $88,000             2

Ferndale – Oil refinery

JR Simplot Co. - Don Siding                            $85,540              5

Pocatello, ID - Fertilizer plant

Professional Coatings                                       $75,000            5

Tacoma - Stain, lacquer, paint

Tesoro Refining and Marketing                         $68,000            4

Anacortes – Oil refinery

U.S. Oil & Refining                                          $51,750           61

Tacoma – Oil refinery

Clearwater Paper

Lewiston, ID - Tissue, wood, paper                    $49,980            4

Ash Grove Cement                                              $ 44,925         2

Inkom, ID – Cement maker

* Total fines and citations issued over the past five years; in some cases the fines were later reduced.

Sources: EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO); Bonnie Stewart of Oregon Public Broadcasting’s EarthFix news site