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.

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96-183