FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENR TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1996 (202) 616-2771 TDD (202) 514-1888 ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA PAINT MANUFACTURER FINED $1.1 MILLION FOR VIOLATING CLEAN AIR ACT WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Vista Paint Corporation, an Orange County paint manufacturer, was ordered to pay $1,111,250 in civil penalties for violating the Clean Air Act, the Justice Department announced. In a decision filed on April 16, 1996, Judge Robert Timlin found that Vista Paint Corporation of Fullerton, California, had made a deliberate decision to sell gloss and semi-gloss paint and architectural coatings that contained levels of Volatile Organic Compounds ("VOCs") in excess of the amount allowed by rules adopted under the Clean Air Act. Judge Timlin also found that Vista refused to respond to the Environmental Protection Agency's requests for information about the contents and sales of its paints. Approximately one half of the total fine imposed by the Judge was due to Vista's refusal of EPA's information request. "The Court has affirmed that those who knowingly violate the law and show no concern for the health and welfare of the environment will be punished," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division. "While we are committed to working cooperatively with industry to achieve environmental protection, in cases where a company deliberately chooses to violate regulations, the U.S. EPA will take aggressive enforcement action," said Phelicia Marcus, Regional Administrator for Environmental Protection Agency, Region 9. "Judge Timlin's decision in this case is loud and clear: pollution does not pay." The case arose after the EPA approved rules in 1985, limiting the VOC content of paint manufactured in Southern California. VOC emissions contribute to the formation of ground- level ozone, which can impair breathing, irritate the nose and throat, and depress the body's immune system. In order to determine whether the manufacturers were complying with the rules, EPA required disclosure of the level of VOC's in the paint that Vista and others manufactured. The government sued Vista after it continued to sell paint containing excess VOCs,and refused to disclose the VOC content of its paint. After a trial in April and May of 1995, Judge Timlin found that Vista "knowingly and intentionally violated federal law" by making a "considered decision to offer to sell non-compliant coatings in violation of [the Clean Air Act] and risk penalties rather than obey the law." The non-compliant paint that Vista sold released an estimated 13 tons of VOCs per month into the atmosphere, thereby exacerbating the ozone problem in Southern California. Judge Timlin also found that although other paint manufacturers said they would comply with the VOC standards, Vista announced its intention to continue to sell non-compliant paint and rejected the EPA's efforts to resolve the issue informally. U.S. Attorney Nora Manella stated, "Vista's decision to gamble with the environment and laws designed to protect it proved costly in the end. In conscious disregard of its known obligations, Vista continued to jeopardize the health and safety of Southern Californians. Companies engaging in such conduct will be held to account, both for the costs of the hazardous conduct and for additional penalties." The office of the United States Attorney for the Central District of California served as the lead prosecutor in this case, with the support of attorneys from the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division and the Environmental Protection Agency. ### 96-183