AUBURN – Gates Formed-Fibre Products Inc. agreed to pay a $16,038 penalty recently for operating before 2001 without an air emissions license, according to enforcement officers at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Gates, a producer of car trunk lining material and other technical textiles, emitted particulate matter and volatile organic compounds – some of which can contribute to ground-level ozone – without a proper air emission control system.
Gates worked with the DEP’s Air Bureau between 1996 and 2001 to obtain an emissions license and installed a wet fiber bed scrubber, which reduces the amount of particulate matter released into the air.
Last week, the company reached an Administrative Consent Agreement with the DEP that a Gates-written release called “a formality that addresses the period which GFFP operated without a license.”
“We are committed to conducting our business in an environmentally responsible manner,” said Gates President David MacMahon in the statement.
The DEP issues around 15 to 20 Consent Agreements every year in Maine with penalties that range from $500 to more than $100,000, according to Jeffrey Kalinich, an environmental specialist for the DEP.
The degree and duration of the violations determine the amount of the fine, he said.
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