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MALL OWNERS TO PAY $31,620 IN CLEAN AIR ACT CASE

Release Date: 1/27/1999
Contact Information: David Sternberg (215) 814-5548

DOVER, Del. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that two companies have agreed to pay a $31,620 penalty to settle air pollution violations at the Dover Mall in Dover, Del.

In its June 1998 administrative complaint, EPA cited the Toronto-based Cadillac Fairview Shopping Center Properties (Del.) Inc., which owned the mall from 1986 through October 1996, and Dover-based CF Dover Mall L.P., the mall’s current owner, for violating federal regulations on ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

According to the complaint, the mall’s owners violated EPA’s regulations by failing to employ a certified technician to service air conditioners with CFC-containing refrigerants, buying at least 2,290 pounds of CFC-containing refrigerant on eight occasions when they did not have a certified technician; failing to keep required service records; and violating regulations requiring the use of certified CFC recovery and recycling equipment.

In agreeing to pay the penalty, the two companies did not admit liability under the Clean Air Act, and neither admitted nor denied the factual allegations alleged in the complaint.

The companies were cited under Clean Air Act regulations designed to  prevent CFCs from escaping into the atmosphere during equipment repairs. Scientists worldwide believe that CFCs contribute to the destruction of the earth’s stratospheric ozone layer, which protects the planet from harmful ultraviolet radiation.  Ozone loss in the atmosphere is likely to lead to an increase in skin cancer in humans and damage to plant and animal life.

The regulations require that only certified technicians service CFC-containing equipment because they know how to minimize release of refrigerant to the environment.  EPA has authorized more than 100 organizations nationwide to certify technicians. For more information on CFCs and stratospheric ozone, please call the stratospheric ozone information hotline, 1-800-296-1996.



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