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Barry Controls to Pay $80,000 for Clean Air Act Violations at Former Brighton, Mass. Plant

Release Date: 08/02/2006
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

(Boston, Mass. – Aug. 2, 2006) - Barry Wright Corp. will pay $80,000 to settle EPA claims that it violated the federal Clean Air Act at its former manufacturing plant in Brighton, Massachusetts. EPA alleged that the company’s Barry Controls division failed to properly notify regulators that the company had installed a degreaser and had modified a boiler to increase its capacity.

Under the Clean Air Act’s hazardous air pollutant regulations, Barry Controls was required to notify EPA when it installed a degreaser that used the toxic solvent trichloroethylene. In addition, Barry Controls was required to estimate the degreaser’s potential to emit hazardous air pollutants, to keep detailed records of solvent usage and emissions, and to file regular compliance reports.

Similarly, after the company increased its heating boiler’s capacity, federal air regulations required Barry Controls to inform EPA of the changes, and to keep records of the amount of fuel used. According to EPA, Barry Controls did not fulfill any of these obligations for several years.

In 2004, the Massachusetts Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) charged Barry Controls with a series of emissions violations deriving from other equipment at the Brighton facility. EPA was not involved in that investigation, which the company settled with DEP. During the course of negotiations over DEP’s allegations, and while Barry Controls was contemplating closing its Brighton facility, the company elected to hire a consultant to conduct a comprehensive air compliance audit. That audit revealed the recordkeeping and reporting violations associated with the degreaser and the boiler.

In Jan. 2005, Barry Controls disclosed these violations to both DEP and EPA and began coming into compliance. While the company’s disclosure did not qualify for EPA’s special incentive policy for companies that self-report violations before any government investigation has begun, EPA did agree to a substantially reduced penalty in light of the company’s voluntary audit and good-faith disclosure. EPA did not allege that the degreaser or boiler violated emissions standards.

The company has since closed its Brighton plant, but maintains facilities in Hopkinton, Massachusetts and in other states.

More information about EPA New England’s air enforcement program (epa.gov/NE/enforcement/air/index.html)

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